Bangladesh’s leading prime ministerial contender, Tarique Rahman, on Friday rejected a proposal from his main rival to form a unity government after next week’s elections, saying his party is confident of winning on its own.
Rahman, 60, head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned in December after nearly two decades in exile in London following a youth-led uprising that toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina, a longtime rival of his mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The BNP’s main competitor in the February 12 election is the Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami, once banned but now resurgent. The two parties governed together from 2001 to 2006, and Jamaat has expressed willingness to renew a partnership for a unity government to stabilize the country, whose garments sector was badly disrupted during months of unrest in 2024.
“How can I form a government with my political opponents, and then who would be in the opposition?” Rahman said in an interview at his party office. His aides said the BNP expects to win more than two-thirds of the 300 parliamentary seats, contesting 292 directly.
All opinion polls project a BNP victory but suggest a strong challenge from the Jamaat alliance, which includes a Gen Z party born from the 2024 anti-Hasina protests.
On foreign relations, Rahman said Bangladesh would work with any country that can support economic growth and job creation for its nearly 175 million citizens, without favoring any single partner.
Regarding Hasina, who remains in India after fleeing in 2024, he said: “She committed a crime in the eyes of Bangladesh law and must face justice.” On her family’s political involvement, he added: “Anyone accepted by the people has the right to engage in politics.” Hasina’s Awami League is barred from contesting the election.
On the nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Rahman said they are welcome to stay until conditions in Myanmar are safe for their return. “We will work so that these people can go back home safely. Until then, they are very welcome to stay here,” he said.