Azman Rahman

It has been about a week since the window for official campaigning for the upcoming election opened, and things are already settling into a familiar pattern.

Tarique Rahman’s formal elevation to the position of the chairman of BNP confirms what has effectively been the case for several years. Since Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment in 2018, he has directed the party’s strategy and organisation.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s return to Bangladesh marks a new chapter in his political life—a new innings that also reflects a broader transition towards second-generation leadership in national politics.

An election that reflects people’s choices and an elected government that carries out their mandate will show whether the hope created by the uprising will be turned into meaningful change.