5 Million Supporters Expected: Bangladesh Opposition Leader Tarique Rahman to Return After 17 Years in Exile

A homecoming 17 years in the making could test a nation's fragile new democracy. Bangladesh's main opposition party is preparing for a massive show of force, aiming to mobilize up to five million supporters to welcome its leader, Tarique Rahman, as he returns from exile this week. The event is set to be a pivotal moment ahead of the country's parliamentary elections scheduled for February.

A Return Cleared by Political Upheaval

According to Al Jazeera, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is coordinating what it calls an "unprecedented" mobilization for Rahman's expected arrival from London on Thursday. Rahman, 60, is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and serves as the BNP's acting chairman. He's widely seen as the party's prime ministerial frontrunner.

He has lived in London since 2008 after facing multiple criminal convictions, including for money laundering and charges related to an alleged plot to assassinate his political rival, Sheikh Hasina. However, following Hasina's removal from office in a student-led uprising last year, courts acquitted him, clearing the legal obstacles to his return.

'A Defining Moment' Amid a Fragile Transition

Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, "This will be a defining political moment." The party plans for supporters to line the route from the airport to a reception venue. Rahman is expected to visit his mother, who has been seriously ill, after the rally.

The homecoming unfolds during a delicate transition overseen by an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The February 12 election is viewed as a critical test of Bangladesh's ability to restore democratic legitimacy. With Hasina's Awami League barred from contesting the vote, the BNP appears positioned to dominate the race. Still, concerns persist over sporadic violence and attacks on media outlets.