Tarique Rahman will return to Bangladesh in late November, says Salahuddin

BNP leaders have been hinting for months that their acting chairman would “soon” come home

BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is expected to return to Bangladesh by the end of November, according to the party’s Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed.

Speaking on bdnews24.com's flagship discussion programme Inside Out, Salahuddin said Tarique is likely to return by the end of the month, though the date may vary slightly.

It went live on bdnews24.com’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

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.

Despite being deeply involved in the party’s political and electoral strategies for nearly two decades, Tarique has never contested an election himself.

This time, however, he is set to stand as a candidate in the approaching parliamentary polls from the Bogura-6 (Sadar) constituency.

His mother, Khaleda Zia, has previously contested from both Bogura-7 (Gabtali and Shahjahanpur) and Bogura-6 (Sadar) since 1991, winning every time.

Tarique is now set to contest from his mother’s long-held seat.