After 17 Years In Exile, Tarique Rahman Set To Contest Bangladesh Elections, BNP Submits Nomination Papers For 2026 Polls

Nomination papers of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman were filed by party leaders on Monday for the upcoming national elections, the Daily Star reported.

Rahman, who recently returned to Bangladesh after 17 years in self-imposed exile, is set to contest from the Dhaka-17 constituency in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election scheduled for February 2026.

The nomination papers were submitted at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner in Segunbagicha.

According to the report, BNP chairperson’s adviser Abdus Salam filed the papers on Rahman’s behalf, accompanied by Farhad Halim Donar, chief adviser of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB).

The nomination documents were collected from Rahman on Sunday, a day after he registered himself as a voter in the Dhaka-17 constituency, a move that prompted senior BNP leaders to encourage him to contest from the seat.

The nomination papers were collected from Tarique on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, Tarique registered himself as a voter of the Dhaka-17 constituency, prompting senior BNP leaders to urge him to contest from this seat.

Entering to Electoral politics after 17 years in exile

After spending 17 years in exile, the BNP Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, returns to Dhaka on December 25, in what is expected to be a major political event in the country’s history after the ousting of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year during the July Uprising.

Rahman, accompanied by his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter, Zaima Rahman, arrived from London on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, bdnews24 reported. Earlier on Saturday, Tarique said that he planned to build Bangladesh as an inclusive and safe state.He expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome he received in his home country after 17 years of exile.

“Dear friends, sisters, and brothers across Bangladesh, Last Thursday was a day I will carry in my heart forever, the day I returned to the soil of my homeland after 17 long years. The warmth of your welcome, the sea of faces along the roads of Dhaka, and the prayers of millions are moments I will never forget. My deepest thanks to all. Words cannot fully express the respect and love my family and I feel for this homecoming. To our supporters who stood by us through every trial and never lost hope, your courage continues to give me strength,” he said in a post on X.

Rahman was arrested during the army-backed caretaker government of 2007-08. After his release, he went to London with his family and did not return to the country. In 2018–when the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was sentenced and sent to prison in the Zia Orphanage Trust case–the BNP Standing Committee meeting appointed Rahman as acting chairman of the party.

For the past seven years, he has led the party from London via video calls. After the change in power on August 5 last year, he was acquitted one by one of the cases filed during the Awami League period through legal battles, paving the way for his return to the country. 

BNP had earlier announced a partial list of candidates for the 13th parliamentary election, stating that Tarique Rahman would vote for the first time from the Bogura-6 constituency.

(With ANI Inputs)

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