London: Tarique Rahman, the 60-year-old leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned to Dhaka on Thursday to a hero’s welcome after spending 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom. The eldest son of former president General Ziaur Rahman and three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, Rahman is now poised to follow in his parents’ footsteps and lead his party to victory in next February’s elections.
Recent opinion surveys show the BNP leading by a significant margin, especially as its bitter rival the Awami League has been banned from participating in the polls. A survey by the Prothom Alo newspaper also shows the vast majority of people expect the BNP to win.
Although nothing can be taken for granted in the present volatile politics of the country, this represents an opportunity for Rahman to cement his place in history.
“Tarique Rahman was handpicked by his mother to lead the party. He did not have an opportunity to lead any movement but a different opportunity has now presented itself,” said writer and political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmed, in a conversation with Dhaka’s the Business Standard.
“He has a big party with him, and if he can keep a cool head and lead the party to victory, then his leadership will be established beyond doubt.”
Rahman’s leadership of the BNP is already well-established, and he enjoys almost rockstar-level adulation among the party rank and file. In the dynastic culture of the party founded by General Zia in 1978, the idea of a leader from outside the founder’s family has never been seriously entertained.
Rahman travelled to Dhaka with wife Zubaida and daughter Zaima, both of whom are also seen as likely future leaders.
But while the welcome party put on by the BNP sought to elevate him to the status of a national leader and prime minister-in-waiting, the reality is likely to be somewhat different.
“Such receptions can have an impact on elections. This means staging a show of popular strength which in our politics plays an important role to create a political cult,” Zobaida Nasreen, a political analyst and professor of anthropology at Dhaka University told me in an interview.
“Through such heroic receptions, their past history of corruption, abuse of power and all other unacceptable behaviour can be removed from the public mind,” Dr Nasreen said.
