The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to form the government for the fourth time after securing an absolute majority in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, ending a 20-year hiatus from power.

According to unofficial results for 299 seats, candidates contesting with the party`s `Sheaf of Paddy` symbol have secured 212 seats.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance candidates` have won 70 seats, while independents and other parties claimed 14 seats. Results for the remaining seats are still being processed.

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman secured a landslide victory in both the Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman emerged victorious in the Dhaka-15 seat.

BNP’s Governance History
The BNP last formed a government with an absolute majority following the 2001 general elections. That term concluded on October 28, 2006, when then-Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia submitted her resignation to the President.

Founded by the late President Ziaur Rahman, the party reached the heights of popularity under the leadership of former Prime Minister and Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. After leading street protests against the Ershad autocracy for nine years, she led the party to victory in 1991, becoming the country’s first female Prime Minister. The BNP also briefly formed a government in 1996.

Rahman returned to Bangladesh on November 25 last year, ending 17 years in exile, and was added to the voter list on November 27.

According to the BNP website and media cell, he has been active in politics since the anti-Ershad movement in the 1980s. His formal political journey began in 1988 as a member of the Gabtali Upazila BNP in Bogura.

In 1993, he revolutionized grassroots politics by introducing secret ballot leadership elections in Bogura.

He was elected Senior Joint Secretary General in 2002 and Senior Vice Chairman in 2009. Following the imprisonment of Begum Khaleda Zia in 2018, he took over as the party’s Acting Chairman, leading the simultaneous movement against the Awami League government.

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia passed away on December 30. Subsequently, on January 9, the party’s Standing Committee formally recognized Tarique Rahman as the Chairman.