{"id":50616,"date":"2025-12-23T09:17:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T09:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/?p=50616"},"modified":"2025-12-23T09:17:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T09:17:19","slug":"after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","title":{"rendered":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tarique Rahman, acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is set to return to Bangladesh after 17 years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Once dubbed the \u201cdark prince\u201d of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman is now widely seen as a potential frontrunner ahead of the February 2026 general elections\u2014but questions remain over whether he can win over undecided voters.<\/p>\n<p>Rahman, 60, has lived in the UK for nearly two decades and has remained largely absent from frontline politics in Bangladesh. His return marks a significant moment for the BNP, which is positioning him as a central figure in its electoral strategy.<\/p>\n<p>The BNP leader has announced that he will arrive in Bangladesh on Thursday, December 25. The party is planning a massive reception to mark his homecoming, with organisers aiming to draw as many as five million people to a gathering in Dhaka.<\/p>\n<p>Rahman\u2019s return is expected to reshape the political landscape as Bangladesh moves closer to the 2026 elections, raising speculation over how his leadership and legacy may influence voter sentiment after years away from the country\u2019s political arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tarique Rahman, acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is set to return to Bangladesh after 17 years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Once dubbed the \u201cdark prince\u201d of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman is now widely seen as a potential frontrunner ahead of the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-50616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-asia","tag-headline"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tarique Rahman, acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is set to return to Bangladesh after 17 years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Once dubbed the \u201cdark prince\u201d of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman is now widely seen as a potential frontrunner ahead of the &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Asian Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nasir Abbas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nasir Abbas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nasir Abbas\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\"},\"headline\":\"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\"},\"wordCount\":201,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Headline\"],\"articleSection\":[\"South Asia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\",\"name\":\"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/media\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/23\\\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/\",\"name\":\"South Asian Wire\",\"description\":\"Journalism from South Asian Perspective\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d\",\"name\":\"Nasir Abbas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nasir Abbas\"},\"description\":\"Nasir Abbas, having vast experience of journalism, working as editor with SAW\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/connectpakistan.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southasianwire.com\\\/wire\\\/author\\\/nasir\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire","og_description":"Tarique Rahman, acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and eldest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is set to return to Bangladesh after 17 years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Once dubbed the \u201cdark prince\u201d of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman is now widely seen as a potential frontrunner ahead of the &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","og_site_name":"South Asian Wire","article_published_time":"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nasir Abbas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nasir Abbas","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls"},"author":{"name":"Nasir Abbas","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d"},"headline":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls?","datePublished":"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls"},"wordCount":201,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","keywords":["Headline"],"articleSection":["South Asia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls","name":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls? - South Asian Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-23T09:17:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","width":750,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2025\/12\/23\/after-17-years-in-exile-tarique-rahman-returns-will-he-shape-bangladeshs-2026-polls#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After 17 Years in Exile, Tarique Rahman Returns: Will He Shape Bangladesh\u2019s 2026 Polls?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/","name":"South Asian Wire","description":"Journalism from South Asian Perspective","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/#\/schema\/person\/ba116d972271f07f3c7b6d49d7d9335d","name":"Nasir Abbas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18a170dc6d7323acea259a815174e20f84985a9a9d943b78ec868e5226470c42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nasir Abbas"},"description":"Nasir Abbas, having vast experience of journalism, working as editor with SAW","sameAs":["http:\/\/connectpakistan.org"],"url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/author\/nasir"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/media\/2025\/12\/Tariq-Rehman-returns-to-Bangla.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50618,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50616\/revisions\/50618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}