Tarique hints placing non-party candidates in upcoming polls
In a significant shift ahead of Bangladesh’s anticipated February general election, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has announced the party will support candidates from allied political groups in select constituencies, even at the expense of its own nominees, as part of a broader strategy to preserve “anti-fascist national unity.”
Speaking virtually from London at a party event in Dhaka on Sunday night, Tarique said the BNP has decided to back individuals who stood alongside the party during recent street protests against what it describes as authoritarian rule. “Due to this reality, BNP candidates may be deprived of nomination in some parliamentary constituencies,” he acknowledged.
Tarioque urged party leaders and activists to accept the decision without dissent, saying: “The party is bigger than the individual; the country is bigger than the party.”
He warned against internal divisions, stating, “There is a hidden tyranny lurking in the latent aspirations all around,” and cautioned that public disputes could be exploited by opponents.
“The name of the party’s single candidate in each constituency will be announced soon,” Tarique affirmed, stressing that once finalised, all BNP members must rally behind the chosen nominee. “Whoever the party nominates – whether a BNP member or a trusted ally – every believer in the nationalist force must work unitedly for their victory.”
The remarks came during the launch of an online payment gateway on the BNP’s official website, designed to renew primary memberships for exiled leaders and activists and to accept new registrations. The event was held at Hotel Lakeshore in Gulshan, with Party Treasurer Rashiduzzaman Millat delivering the welcome address.
Tarique framed the BNP’s approach as one of strategic compromise. “As a responsible political party, we have chosen the path of compromise with democratic forces, making maximum concessions in the interest of national unity,” he said. He added that the BNP has also engaged constructively with the current interim government, despite growing concerns over the electoral process.
He expressed alarm at what he described as “new conditions” being imposed to obstruct a free and fair vote. “The entire country has seen how the path to democracy is being made increasingly difficult,” he warned, urging vigilance against efforts to undermine public confidence in the upcoming polls.
In a pointed allegation, Tarique claimed that “organised propaganda and tactics to prevent BNP’s victory” have already begun to surface, even in what he called “fascism-free Bangladesh.”
He blamed the previous 15-year regime, widely understood to refer to the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, for dismantling electoral integrity and fostering a culture of political exclusion.
Nevertheless, Tarique expressed confidence that unity among democratic forces could thwart any such conspiracy. “If every person who believes in the Bangladeshi nationalist force remains united, no scheme will succeed in separating the BNP from the people,” he said.
He concluded with a broader appeal to all democratic parties in Bangladesh, urging them to distinguish between legitimate political strategy and reactive counter-strategy. “If we fail to understand this difference,” he cautioned, “we risk aligning ourselves—however unintentionally—with undemocratic or evil forces.”