Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE 26-year self-exile by BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman is set to end with the leader announcing that he would soon return to Bangladesh. Rahman, who is tipped to be the Prime Minister if the BNP wins the elections, has been in self-exile in London for the last 26 years.
The 58-year-old Rahman, who is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, also announced that he would be running for elections.
The caretaker of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said that elections will be held by February next year.
With the Awami League barred from contesting the elections, all opinion polls point towards a BNP victory.
When the BNP was in power between 2001 and 2006, ties were strained with India over border security issues and allegations of harbouring anti-India terrorist groups. India had raised concerns in 2004 following the discovery of ten truckloads of weapons at Chattogram’s CUFL jetty.
India had said that these were meant for separatist groups operating in the northeast. Indian officials say that following the ouster of Hasina, ties have strained with Bangladesh. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that whatever the situation may be, engagement with Dhaka must continue and ties have to be normalised, the official said.
With the Awami League barred, New Delhi is looking at a scenario where the BNP comes to power and Rahman becomes Prime Minister. Although India has had problems with the BNP and Rahman in the past, the last few months have seen some alignments.
There have been backdoor engagements, but a full re-engagement could take place after the 2026 electionsv
