BNP claims commanding majority in Bangla polls; Tarique Rahman set to be PM

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have claimed a sweeping victory in the country’s 13th parliamentary elections, with unofficial results suggesting the alliance has secured a clear majority in the Jatiya Sangsad.

Local media reports on Friday indicated that the BNP-led bloc had won 210 seats, comfortably surpassing the threshold required to form a government. The outcome sets the stage for party chairman Tarique Rahman to assume the office of prime minister, marking the return of a male head of government in Bangladesh after nearly 35 years.

Preliminary results announced following Thursday night’s vote count showed that Rahman won the Dhaka-17 constituency with 72,699 votes. His closest challenger, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate S.M. Khaliduzzaman, received 68,300 votes, leaving Rahman with a margin of 4,399 ballots. Voting in the constituency was conducted across 125 centres, including postal ballots, according to the returning officer for Dhaka division.

Rahman also secured victory in the Bogra-6 constituency, where he obtained 216,284 votes from 150 centres. His nearest rival there, Jamaat candidate Abidur Rahman Sohel, polled 97,626 votes.

After casting his vote at the Gulshan Model High School and College centre in Dhaka on Thursday, Rahman expressed confidence in his party’s prospects. Speaking to reporters, he said the people of Bangladesh had awaited this moment for more than a decade and declared himself “100 per cent hopeful” of an electoral win.

Rahman is the son of former president Ziaur Rahman, who founded the BNP after assuming power in 1977 following a turbulent period of coups and counter-coups. He is also the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who led the country during two terms in office between 1991 and 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006.

Following Khaleda Zia’s death in December 2025, Rahman formally took charge of the party. With the BNP-led alliance now claiming a decisive mandate, he appears set to lead Bangladesh into a new political chapter once the results are formally confirmed.

With IANS inputs