DHAKA: After almost two decades in self-exile, Tarique Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is expecting victory in Thursday’s election following a change in regime that for years restricted his supporters’ voting rights.
Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 and settled in London, facing various convictions brought against him by the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the BNP’s archenemy who led the country until mid-2024, when she was toppled in a student-led uprising.
He returned in late December, received by millions of people who lined his route from the airport to the center of Dhaka. He believes they will back his party at the polls.
“BNP is the most popular party in the country. We have been struggling for the people’s voting rights for more than 17 years. We represent the people’s expectations and aspirations,” he told Arab News in Dhaka on Tuesday.
“I believe the people will vote for us and, inshallah, we will achieve a landslide victory.”
