Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6: Why Tarique Rahman chose these two seats for his comeback and why India is watching closely

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman addresses his supporters after his return from London, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Tarique Rahman, BNP acting chairman, returned to Bangladesh after 17 years and filed to contest elections from Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6, signaling his political comeback amid a volatile climate and raising stakes for both domestic and regional politics.

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Freshly returned to Bangladesh after nearly 17 years in exile, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has taken his first formal step towards electoral politics by filing papers to contest the upcoming general elections from two constituencies: Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6.

Rahman, the elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, applied for voting rights on December 27, just two days after his return to Dhaka. Later the same day, he signed nomination papers for the Dhaka-17 seat, signalling the BNP’s intent to project him as the party’s central political face ahead of the polls.

Why Dhaka-17 matters

Dhaka-17 was earlier represented by senior Awami League leader Mohammad A. Arafat, who served as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting under Sheikh Hasina. Arafat, a sharp critic of the BNP-Jamaat alliance, lost both his parliamentary seat and ministerial position following Hasina’s ouster.

In August 2024, Bangladesh’s Financial Intelligence Unit ordered banks to freeze the accounts of Arafat and his wife. Since then, multiple cases have been filed against him, including those linked to protests that turned violent and led to deaths.

Rahman’s decision to contest from Dhaka-17 is being seen as a direct political challenge to the remnants of the Awami League’s influence in the capital.

Bogra-6 and Khaleda Zia’s legacy

The second seat Rahman has chosen, Bogra-6, carries strong symbolic value for the BNP. It was long considered a bastion of Khaleda Zia before being won by Awami League leader Ragebul Ahsan Ripu in the 2023 by-elections.

Ripu’s hold on the seat proved short-lived. Within months of the fall of the Hasina government, he was arrested by Bangladesh’s anti-terror agency, the Rapid Action Battalion, as part of the sweeping crackdown launched by the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.

Following his arrest, the RAB said Ripu was accused in 13 cases, including murder, registered across multiple police stations in Bogra district. While in custody, Ripu suffered a cardiac arrest, adding to the political controversy surrounding the seat.

Bigger political stakes

Rahman’s twin-candidature move comes amid a volatile political churn in Bangladesh, with the Yunus-led interim government facing criticism over arrests of Awami League leaders and questions about the neutrality of the electoral process. As highlighted in recent Moneycontrol reports, Rahman’s comeback has intensified pressure on Yunus and reshaped opposition politics.

With the BNP increasingly projecting Tarique Rahman as its prime ministerial face, his entry into the electoral fray from Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6 is being closely watched not just within Bangladesh but also in India, given the potential implications for regional ties if he manages to translate his political revival into electoral success.