Staff Correspondent
Dhaka, Jan 10, 2026: Tarique Rahman has formally taken charge as the Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The announcement was made late Friday night following a meeting of the party’s National Standing Committee.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting at the BNP’s Gulshan office around 10:30 pm, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said an emergency session of the Standing Committee had been held under the chairmanship of Tarique Rahman.
He noted that, in accordance with the party constitution, Tarique Rahman had already assumed the responsibilities of chairman, and the Standing Committee expressed satisfaction over the process. Members also offered prayers for his success in leading the party.
The leadership transition comes ten days after the death of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on December 30. In a unanimous decision, the party’s highest policymaking body entrusted Tarique Rahman with the top post during the Standing Committee meeting.
Besides Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the meeting was attended by Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Selima Rahman, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, and AZM Zahid Hossain.
Tarique Rahman formally entered politics in 1988 when he became a general member of the BNP in Gabtali upazila of Bogura. His influence at the national level began to emerge prominently during the 2001 general election, when he played an active role in shaping the party’s electoral strategy and strengthening grassroots organisation.
In 2002, he was appointed senior joint secretary general of the party, and in 2009 he was elected senior vice chairman at the BNP’s fifth national council.
Following the political upheaval after the army-backed caretaker government assumed power on January 11, 2007, Tarique Rahman was arrested on March 7 of that year. After spending around 18 months in prison, he was released on bail by the High Court in September 2008 and travelled to the United Kingdom for advanced medical treatment.
While residing in London, he was declared acting chairman of the BNP in 2018, after Khaleda Zia was imprisoned in the Zia Orphanage Trust case. From abroad, Tarique Rahman continued to lead the party, maintaining communication with grassroots leaders and activists through the use of modern technology.
After nearly 17 years, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on December 25. His arrival was marked by a massive turnout of party leaders and supporters, from the airport to various roads across the capital. He later attended a large reception organised in Purbachal, underscoring his renewed physical presence in the country’s political landscape.
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