Overview
- Tarique Rahman, 60, arrived in Dhaka with his wife and daughter to a vast, tightly controlled welcome as senior BNP leaders received him at the airport.
- Authorities coordinated with the BNP on security, deploying thousands from the army, BGB and police, restricting drones, and imposing a 24-hour visitor ban at the airport.
- Courts overturned convictions handed down in absentia following Sheikh Hasina’s removal in 2024, eliminating legal obstacles to Rahman’s return.
- BNP plans include a mass reception, a visit to Khaleda Zia in hospital, voter registration on December 27, and nomination moves in Bogura for the February 12 polls.
- The race takes shape with the Awami League barred, surveys indicating BNP strength, Jamaat-e-Islami competing, and unrest linked to Osman Hadi’s killing and strains with India.