When Tarique Rahman, the 60-year-old son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), ended his 17-year exile and stepped back onto Bangladeshi soil 25 December, new possibilities seemed to open up for the country which has been in great turmoil for the past few months since the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s very long and authoritarian rule. There is no gainsaying the fact that he is a product of polarization politics that has made the country lurch from one extreme to another. Yet, his statements before and after setting foot on the country’s soil assume signifi cance both for Bangladesh and India. The current anti-India rhetoric whipped up by the fundamentalist forces ruling the roost at the moment, with the interim government conniving with it, may be toned down and there may also be a halt to the mad rush towards chaos and violence prevailing in the country.
Rahman’s return comes after the Bangladesh Election Commission announced polls will be held in February 2026. Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government, has announced that he will step down after the polls. The two men had met in London earlier this year. Zia, Bangladesh’s fi rst woman Prime Minister, is an arch-rival of Sheikh Hasina. The 80-year-old has been in poor health of late and was even put on ventilator support.
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Addressing cheering crowds on his arrival, Rahman made a sensible and maybe impractical noise about pledging to unite people of all faiths and ensuring their safety. He urged Moslems, Hindoos, Buddhists and Christians living in his country to join him in creating an inclusive nation. He even echoed civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr and quoted from his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. He asserted that he has a plan for the people of his country and stressed the importance of cooperation for building a democratic and economically strong Bangladesh. The fi rst and foremost thing needed for the country at the moment is peace and he said he will strive to achieve this goal.
Rahman, who held a roadshow to his residence, was greeted by thousands of supporters along the route which refl ects how important he is in the country’s current political landscape. Since he is billed to be the frontrunner in the race for Prime Minister, his calls for peace and safety for individuals of all faiths set the right tone. Signifi cantly, he wished Hindoos well. This seems to go down well for that minority, somewhat calming the highly charged communal atmosphere in which Hindoos have been targeted by fundamentalist forces with vicious attacks for the past few months. Rahman reassured the Hindoos by iterating that religion is for the individual, but the right to security is for everyone.
This gives an elbow room to India to rework its Bangladesh strategy which has gone completely awry and been de-railed since some time.
Surveys, including one by the US-based International Republican Institute, show that the BNP could possibly win the most seats in Bangladesh’s Parliament. Here it is to be noted that India has had a rather contentious relationship with the BNP and closer ties with Hasina. With Hasina’s Awami League having been barred from contesting the polls, India desperately needs to seek an ally in Rahman.
Of course, the BNP chief has announced he will maintain equidistance from India and Pakistan coining the slogan “Not Dilli (Delhi), not Pindi (Rawalpindi)” and expressed his resolve to make “Bangladesh before everything.” This slogan clearly means New Delhi will be the bigger loser since it was Pakistan which was always the primary enemy for the erstwhile East Pakistan now Bangladesh.
Foreign affairs experts claim it will be suicidal for Rahman to publicly declare any willingness to work with India, given the anti-India mood prevailing in the country. All the same his words that he would not curry favour with Pakistan will squeeze India’s window which it is frantically seeking. India is concerned about the rise of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which has made a comeback under Yunus. There were reports that the Jamaat was key to Yunus getting the position of chief adviser. The Jamaat also reportedly has the backing of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). So India, busy making box offi ce hit movies, is lost in the maze of intricacies being woven along the length and breadth of its borders.
Under these circumstances, the BNP could be the only bet for India. Much now depends on how Rahman plays his cards to win the February elections and if he is successful to come out as a dominant player then how kindly he decides to treat India.
