BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is set to return home from London on 25 December, ending more than 17 years of his exiled life and putting to rest months of speculation about the timing of his homecoming.

“I am very happy to inform you that our acting chairman, the most beloved leader of millions, who has been in exile for almost 18 years, will arrive in Dhaka on December 25,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced at a press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office on Friday night.

The announcement followed a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee, chaired virtually by Tarique Rahman.

Mirza Fakhrul said Tarique has, for nearly a decade, steered the party and led the struggle for democracy, culminating in the July student–people upsurge that toppled the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

He said the news of Tarique’s return would bring “a message of relief” to the nation and expressed hope that obstacles to democracy would be removed once he returns.

According to political analysts, Tarique’s homecoming will mark a significant moment in Bangladesh’s political history and could signal a new phase for democratic politics. The homecoming will also be a record in history of returning home of a politician after passing around a decade and half in exile.

Grassroots leaders and activists across the country have been energised by the announcement, said the party insiders, adding that Tarique chose the Christmas holiday for his return to minimise public inconvenience.

Tarique has lived in London with his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, and daughter, Zaima Rahman, since 2008 after securing political asylum. He was arrested on 7 March 2007 during the 1/11 caretaker government and freed on bail in September 2008, after which he travelled to the UK for treatment. He was accused in dozens of cases during the previous Awami League regime, but courts have since cleared him of all charges.

During the Awami League’s tenure, he was sentenced in five cases in absentia and faced nearly 100 cases. After the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, he was acquitted through legal processes, and no cases remain pending against him.

Tarique was made acting BNP chairman in 2018 after his mother, former prime minister and party Chairperson Khaleda Zia, was jailed. His active political involvement, however, dates back decades. At 22, he joined Gabtali Upazila BNP in 1988 and founded the non-political Ziaur Rahman Foundation the same year.

He gained popularity during the 1991 election campaign when he accompanied Khaleda Zia across the country. Ahead of the 2001 election, he set up an office in Dhaka to study local issues and engage with intellectuals and civil society, contributing to the BNP’s landslide victory.

Despite being the party chief’s son, Tarique did not assume public office and instead focused on strengthening the grassroots. He was appointed senior joint secretary general in 2002 and later convened a nationwide grassroots forum, visiting every upazila to engage directly with supporters.

While abroad, he was elected senior vice-chairman at the party’s Fifth National Council in 2009 and re-elected at the Sixth National Council in 2016. His speeches and interviews were restricted under the previous government, which barred media from publishing or broadcasting his statements.

Tarique married Dr Zubaida Rahman on 3 February 1994. Their daughter, Zaima, has completed her law degree at Queen Mary University of London.

BNP insiders said preparations were underway at Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan residence for Tarique and his family. The duplex house on a 32-katha plot, adjacent to Khaleda’s current home ‘Feroza’, has been renovated for their use. Tarique is expected to use the BNP chairperson’s office as his political headquarters after his return.

A close aide said a specially equipped bullet-proof Toyota Land Cruiser Prado LC 250, manufactured this year in Japan, already arrived in Dhaka for his security.

Despite security concerns, BNP leaders say Tarique is determined to return to lead the party into the national election scheduled for 12 February next year.

Regarding his homecoming, Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury recently said the government was prepared to provide “special security” to those who require it.