Tarique Rahman will return to Bangladesh in November, says Salahuddin

He says Khaleda Zia will decide on election participation considering her health

Senior BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed has said the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will return to Bangladesh in November.

Speaking on Friday at his Gulshan residence, the Standing Committee member added that the exact date will be announced soon and hoped the return would occur in mid-November.

Tarique has been living in London for the past 17 years after leaving the country with his family during the 2008 state of emergency.

Although legal complications related to Tarique’s cases eased after the fall of the Awami League government, he has not yet returned

Several senior BNP leaders have in recent months said Tarique will return “soon”, though no fixed date has been officially confirmed.

In an Oct 6 interview with BBC Bangla, Tarique indicated he would return “quickly” and confirmed his intention to participate in the election.

When asked about contesting from which constituencies, Salahuddin said Tarique will take part in the election, with specific seats to be decided later.

“He can contest from any seat in Bangladesh,” he added.

On Khaleda Zia’s participation, Salahuddin said the party hopes the BNP chairperson will decide for herself whether to contest after assessing her health. “We want her to take part in the election.”

Regarding candidate nominations, he said the party aims to issue green signals for single candidates in roughly 200 constituencies by mid-October, allowing them to campaign as unified candidates.

On coalition discussions, he said talks are ongoing with all potential partners, but final outcomes will be revealed closer to the election.