Bangladesh Nationalist Party

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), political party in Bangladesh founded in 1978, seven years after the country became independent from Pakistan. In its early decades the party allied itself with conservative expressions of Islam, in contrast with its main rival, the Awami League (AL), which had a secular orientation; in recent years, however, the BNP has taken on a more secular character. It has been in power since it won a significant majority in Bangladesh’s February 2026 elections.

Founding and early development

The party was established in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, then president of Bangladesh and a former military official who had played a key role in Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan. The BNP was not an explicitly religious party, but early on it partnered with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist group, in order to form coalition governments in the parliamentary system.

Rahman was assassinated in 1981. In the aftermath the military leader Hussein Mohammad Ershad took charge, remaining in power until he was ousted by a mass uprising in 1990 coordinated by opposition groups including leaders of the BNP and the AL. In the elections that followed, the BNP won a majority of the parliamentary seats, and Khaleda Zia—Rahman’s wife and longtime chair of the BNP—became the prime minister.

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Khaleda Zia and the BNP in power

Under Zia’s leadership the BNP advocated a role for Islam in the state. It supported pro-business policies and the privatization of certain state-held companies. It also favored strengthening ties with the United States, China, and Arab countries—in contrast to the AL, which looked to India’s secular constitution and socialist economy as models.

The BNP lost power in 1996, but it regained its majority in the 2001 elections, and Zia served as prime minister again until 2006. For years, elections in Bangladesh had been overseen by a neutral caretaker administration, tasked with making sure the process was fair and votes were counted accurately. But after Zia’s second term ended, the BNP and the AL could not agree on who should oversee the next election. Riots broke out, and a military-backed government took over in early 2007, remaining in power until elections in December 2008 and the restoration of civilian rule in January 2009. The military also arrested Zia and her son Tarique Rahman on corruption charges and imprisoned them for more than a year. After Rahman was released, he fled to London to avoid imprisonment on further charges.

Political crisis and opposition years (2008–24)

In the 2008 elections an alliance led by the AL won a parliamentary majority and abolished the election caretaker system, arguing that it was no longer necessary and that elections should not be overseen by unelected officials. Ahead of the 2014 elections, Zia was placed under house arrest, and the BNP boycotted the vote, arguing that it would be rigged. When voting began, riots broke out at polling sites, and police opened fire on protesters. At least 26 people were killed and more than 100 polling sites were torched. Ultimately, the AL won 232 of 300 seats—running unopposed in 153 races because of the BNP’s boycott. BNP leaders went into hiding.

In the months and years that followed, the BNP called on Bangladeshis to oppose the AL through non-electoral means, including strikes, shutdowns, and violent protests. It ran candidates in the 2018 election largely to maintain its party registration, winning just 7 of 300 seats and retaining only a symbolic presence in parliament.

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Under the AL’s leadership Zia faced accusations in 37 legal cases. In 2018 she was convicted of embezzling funds meant for an orphanage during her tenure as prime minister and was sentenced to a five-year prison term. Tarique Rahman, who was also convicted in the case, became the party’s acting chair. From his post in London he was safe from arrest, but the BNP’s fortunes suffered from its leaders not being active in Bangladesh.

Return to prominence

In 2024 there were massive protests throughout Bangladesh—during which, according to a United Nations estimate, up to 1,400 people were killed—leading to the fall of the AL’s government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed fled to India, and an interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took over.

In late 2024 and early 2025 Bangladesh’s Supreme Court issued a series of verdicts in which it cleared Zia and Rahman of their criminal charges, opening the path for them to reenter Bangladeshi politics. Following the 2024 uprising, the BNP and Jamaat, longtime political allies, began to drift apart. Observers saw this as part of an attempt by the BNP to claim the role of Bangladesh’s main secular nationalist party, which the AL had previously filled.

Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December 2025, arriving in Dhaka with his wife and daughter. Speaking to a massive crowd that had gathered to greet him, Rahman promised he would work to restore “democratic and economic rights.”

Five days later, on December 30, Zia died after a long illness.

2026 elections and new mandate

In February 2026 new elections were held. The AL was banned from participating, and the BNP won 212 seats. Jamaat took 77. Rahman was sworn in as the prime minister.

Under his leadership the BNP announced a liberal, technocratic policy agenda centered on good-government reforms and economic initiatives, such as expanding the information technology sector and diversifying Bangladesh’s exports. It also promised to raise wages, increase public spending on health care, and offer free meals in schools.