In first response, Tarique Rahman thanks supporters after BNP’s landslide victory: ‘Grateful for the love’

BNP chief Tarique Rahman

In his first remarks post the sweeping win of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the national polls, party chairman Tarique Rahman thanked the supporters for their backing.

“I am grateful for the love you have shown me. Please pray for me,” Rahman said in a brief interaction with people gathered outside his residence before leaving to offer Friday prayers, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The report stated that Tarique Rahman departed from his Gulshan home to attend prayers at the Bangladesh Navy Headquarters Mosque. Supporters thronged the area, hoping to see the BNP leader following the party’s landslide win.

Rahman paused his vehicle before leaving, stepped out to address the crowd briefly and acknowledged their greetings before heading onward.

The 60-year-old leader's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has bagged 209 out of 297 seats, while right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, known to be close to Pakistan, secured 68 seats. The Awami League party of Hasina was barred from contesting the elections, which recorded 59.44 per cent voter turnout.

The results signal a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the BNP, long under strain during the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League administration, which collapsed amid countrywide student protests in August 2024.

The BNP was founded by Rahman's father Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler turned politician. The party was led by his mother Khaleda Zia for nearly four decades after the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman in 1981.

Five days after his return to Bangladesh amid a massive welcome in December last year, Rahman was struck by a personal tragedy as Khaleda Zia died after a prolonged illness.

Rahman became the chairman of the BNP in the absence of his mother at a time when the party was facing a state of political wilderness ahead of the polls.