Bangladesh Nationalist Party
বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল
AbbreviationBNP
ChairpersonBegum Khaleda Zia
Tarique Rahman (Acting Chairperson)[1]
General SecretaryMirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
SpokespersonRuhul Kabir Rizvi
Senior Vice-ChairmanTarique Rahman
Vice-ChairmanHafizuddin Ahmed
FounderZiaur Rahman
Founded1 September 1978 (1978-09-01)
Preceded byJatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal
Headquarters28/1 Naya Paltan, Dhaka
NewspaperThe Daily Dinkal
Student wingBangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal
Youth wingBangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal
Women's wingBangladesh Jatiotabadi Mohila Dal
Farmer wingBangladesh Jatiotabadi Krishak Dal
Trade union wingBangladesh Jatyatabadi Sramik Dal
Volunteer wingBangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sechchasebak Dal[2]
Cleric wingBangladesh Jatiyatabadi Olama Dal[3]
IdeologyBig tent
Bangladeshi nationalism
Conservatism (Bangladeshi)
Economic liberalism[4]
Indoscepticism[4][5]
Political positionCentre-right[6] to right wing[7]
National affiliationBangladesh Nationalist Front (1979)
7 Party Alliance (1991–1999)
Jatiya Oikya Front (2018–2019)
20 Party Alliance (1999–2022)
12 Party Alliance (2022–present)[8]
International affiliationAsia Pacific Democrat Union[9][10]
Colors  Red
  Green
  Blue (customary) [9][10][11]
SloganBangladesh Zindabad
Anthem"Bangladesh First"
(Prothom Bangladesh)
Seats in Jatiya Sangsad
0 / 350
Mayors in City Corporations
0 / 12
Councillor in
City Corporations
67 / 640
Election symbol

Sheaf of Paddy
Party flag
Website
bnpbd.org

    The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, romanized: Bānglādesh Jātīyôtābādī Dôl, abbreviated as BNP) is a major political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by the late Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman, after the presidential election of 1978, with a view of uniting people with a nationalist ideology. Following Rahman's assassination in 1981, his widow, Khaleda Zia, took over leadership of the party and presided as chairperson until her imprisonment, in 2018. Since then, Tarique Rahman, the son of Rahman and Zia, has served as acting chairperson and has run the affairs of the party from London.[12]

    Since its creation, the BNP has won the 1979 and 1981 presidential elections as well as the 1991,[13] 1996,[14] and 2001[15] general elections, respectively. Governments formed under the semi-presidential system were led by Ziaur Rahman, and the parliamentary republics were led by Khaleda Zia, who served as Prime Minister.[16] The party holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country, with 116 seats in the seventh national election of June 1996.[17] It currently has 7 MPs in parliament following the 2018 general election.[18]

    The BNP's student wing was a driving force in the 1990 uprising against the autocratic Ershad rule that culminated in the fall of the regime and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.[19] Begum Khaleda Zia, who served as the party's chairperson from 1983, was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the second female Prime Minister of a Muslim majority country after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto.

    Begum Khaleda Zia is the chairperson of the party, with Tarique Rahman as the senior vice-chairman and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the secretary-general.

    Ideology

    Current BNP is mainly a big tent political party and comprises various political ideologies stretching from left to right-wing politics under. Initially, BNP had no absolute and well defined ideology, as did its rival Awami League. BNP was originally formed when a political vacuum was occurring in Bangladesh, mainly resulting from the coups–countercoups of 1975. As a result, after the withdrawal of military rule, various politicians, regardless of party & ideological affiliation, joined the newly formed BNP in order to return in mainstream politics. Many political experts believe that since BNP was born after Awami League was overthrown, the BNP was an attempt to establish a position in the areas where Awami League was moderate.[20] According to Professor Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, a former professor of Dhaka University, BNP didn't have any concrete ideology at the time of its establishment, and the ideological definition came only after the establishment of the party.[20] Syed Manjurul Islam, a professor of the English department at Dhaka University, said,

    "Ziaur Rahman thought that he would do a particular politics based on Bangladesh which the left to the Islamists would be united. As a result, he would forward keeping distance with those who believed in Bengali nationalism or the spirit of the Liberation War."[20]

    Senior BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said about BNP's ideology,

    "The changes that were made in many fundamental issues become the basis or ideology of the party. [...] Bangladeshi nationalism, faith in Allah, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim and establishment of a justice-based society - these are BNP was born with these as ideals. At the same time, BNP promoted private ownership and free market economy. BNP still stands on these ideals."[20]

    Bangladeshi nationalism

    Bangladeshi nationalism is the central ideology of the party. It was adopted from the 19-points program, which declared, "The sovereignty and independence of Bangladesh, golden fruits of the historic liberation struggle, is our sacred trust and inviolable right." According to its founder Ziaur Rahman, the "Bangladeshi" identity, based on its history, traditions, culture and geographical territory, is different from the neighbouring nations and unique to itself.[21] Proponents of Bangladeshi nationalism argue that this ideology has an edge over the Bengali nationalism because of its territorial appeal which succeeds to include the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh as well as distinguishes the people of Bangladesh from the Bengali people of India.[22]

    Economic liberalism

    The party fiscally calls itself socialist, but practically BNP promotes economic liberalism and supports a free-market economy with limited intervention. Rahman believed that the previous socialist-influenced economy had been in a poor shape because of "years of colonial-style exploitation". To abate the deteriorating conditions, a revamp of the economic system is required. According to Mubashar Hasan, this new economic system was primarily an "outline for a capitalist system".[23] Despite being located to the right-of-centre, founding principles of the party included social and economic justice in light of socialism. This is because at the time of its establishment, the country was in a political shifting from left to right and a major part of politicians of the newly established party came from a leftist political background, who favored socialism for economic and exploitation freedom. Since the party was divided on a large scale by the mixture of left–right political spectrum at the beginning, Rahman presented social justice as a common factor of political doctrine with the aim of establishing national unity. The party still consists of a large number of progressives and social liberals, as well as fiscal liberals.

    Islam and conservatism

    Islamic and conservative ideals are an important factors in BNP's ideology. The founding manifesto of the BNP claims that the people of Bangladesh want to "...see that all-out faith and confidence in the almighty Allah, democracy, nationalism". BNP's stance for conservatism represents "a mixture of traditional Bengali customs and moderate Islam".[4] Upon taking power, Ziaur Rahman introduced a state-sponsored Islamization process that had a significant impact on Bangladeshi society and culture.[4] However, the party also promotes religious freedom and tolerance as a component of Bangladeshi nationalism. Many founding leaders of the party were non-Muslims. Ziaur Rahman rejected theocracy as the governing system for Bangladesh.[24]

    History

    Founder of the party President Ziaur Rahman

    JaGoDal

    On 22 February 1978, a new party, Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal (JaGoDal), was formed with Justice Abdus Sattar as the coordinator. Most of the prominent figures were from the advisory council that was running the country at that time. Jagadal was the first attempt to create a platform for the nationalists of the country. Major General (retd) M.Majid ul Haq, Professor Syed Ali Ahsan, Shamsul Alam Chowdhury, A.Z.M. Enayetullah Khan, M. Hamidullah Khan, Jakaria Chowdhury, Professor Dr. M. R. Khan, and Saifur Rahman were prominent figures.[25] JAGODAL was dissolved on 28 August 1978 to consolidate its membership under the newly formed Jatiyatabadi Front.

    Jatiyatabadi Front

    On 1 May 1978 the Jatiyatabadi Front or Nationalist Front was formed with Ziaur Rahman as the chief of the front, which JAGODAL joined soon after its formation. A major portion of NAP (Bhashani) joined the front as well with Mashiur Rahman. Shah Azizur Rahman with some of his colleagues from Muslim League. Kazi Zafar Ahmed and a faction of United Peoples Party, Maolana Matin with his Labour Party, and minority leader Rashraj Mandal with Tafsili Jati Federation also joined.

    Ziaur Rahman was their candidate for the presidential election of 3 June 1978. Ziaur Rahman won the election, defeating M. A. G. Osmani of Ganatantrik Oikya Jote (United Democratic Alliance) which was backed by the Bangladesh Awami League.[26]

    Formation of BNP

    After the presidential election of 1978, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was established on 1 September.[27]

    The constitution of the party was drafted within 21 days of the formation with 76 members with Ziaur Rahman as the chief convener, M. Hamidullah Khan as the Executive Secretary and Dr. A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury was appointed as the Secretary General.

    Founding convening committee

    The BNP formed its first government after the 1979 Bangladeshi general election. The first session of the parliament was 2 April 1979. It elected Shah Azizur Rahman as Prime Minister and leader of the parliament. Mirza Ghulam Hafiz was elected as the speaker of the parliament. Asaduzzaman Khan from the Awami League became the leader of the opposition.

    During this time it attracted a large pool of supporters and activists who joined the newly formed students wing and youth wing. After the formation of the government, the first executive committee of the party was declared. A national standing committee was formed as the highest decision-making forum of the party with 12 members.[28]

    Founding National Standing Committee

    A youth wing was formed in September 1978 which was named Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal with Abul Kashem as chief convener. The Dhaka unit convener was Saifur Rahman. Within a couple of months the central executive committee of Jubo Dal was declared with Abul Kashem and Saifur Rahman as the President and general secretary respectively. Mirza Abbas became the Dhaka unit President with Kamruzzaman Ayat Ali as the Secretary General.[29]

    1981–1982

    On 30 May 1981 the founder of the party President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in the Chittagong Circuit House by a small group of military officials. After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman, large crowds started protesting in major cities like Dhaka and Chittagong.[30] The funeral of Ziaur Rahman became a huge event with the participation of millions of people in Dhaka.[31]

    In the 1981 Bangladeshi presidential election Abdus Sattar was elected. He formed a National Security Council to involve the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Vice-president Mirza Nurul Huda resigned from his post in March 1982.[32]

    Military coup d'état, 1982

    Army Chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad thwarted the elected government of Justice Sattar on 24 March 1982 and replaced him with Justice A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury. The BNP was thrown out of power. Many of its leaders were imprisoned,[30] including former Minister S.A. Bari, Saifur Rahman, Habibullah Khan, Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, Atauddin Khan, Jamal Uddin Ahmed, K.M. Obaidur Rahman, Abul Hasnat, and Moudud Ahmed. 233 leaders of BNP were arrested from March to July 1982.[33]

    Khaleda Zia is the current chairperson and leader of the party.

    7-Party Alliance

    From 1983, Begum Khaleda Zia became the de facto decision maker of the party. Under her leadership the BNP formed a new anti-government alliance against the autocratic Ershad regime. It was named after the number of parties with it, 7-Party Alliance.[34]

    BNP launched a massive anti-government movement after co-ordination with Awami League led 15-Party Alliance from September 1983. The 7-Party Alliance arranged a mass gathering and called a nationwide strike on 1 November 1983. The strike was very successful. After that the alliance called to surround the Secretariat on 28 November 1983 along with the 15-Party Alliance.[35] Thousands of BNP activists led by then Executive Secretary (later designated Office Secretary) M. Hamidullah Khan surrounded the secretariat building at Paltan and broke large hole of the southern corner of the boundary wall of the building. The police retaliated with indiscriminate firing of live bullets.[35] M. Hamidullah Khan was arrested on 3 November in the afternoon from his residence at Dhaka Cantonment. A ban on political activities was imposed that night and Begum Khaleda Zia was kept under house arrest. The illegal regime was severely shaken at the core. A long curfew and ban on politics was imposed.

    On 29 February 1984, Ershad declared that the ban on politics would be lifted on 26 March and on 27 May both the presidential and national election would be held. The 7-Party Alliance asked for the national election prior to the presidential election. After the lifting of the ban, Khaleda Zia attended an extended meeting of the party on 1 April where she was made the acting chairperson of the party. In May, the Chairperson Justice Sattar resigned and Khaleda Zia was made the chairperson of the party.[29]

    Under the leadership of Khaleda Zia, the first major step BNP took was to expel leaders like Shah Azizur Rahman, Moudud Ahmed, AKM Maidul Islam, Abdul Alim, and Barrister Sultan Ahmed Chowdhury from the party. These leaders formed a committee with Shah Aziz as the President and AKM Maidul Islam as the general secretary. This faction later joined the Jatiya Front and Jatiya Party.

    Attack on Begum Khaleda Zia

    On 23 September 1984 while addressing a rally in Bogra, 10 or 12 handmade grenades were charged on the rally while some of them were aimed at the stage where Khaleda Zia was giving her speech.[36] Khaleda Zia narrowly escaped injury while eleven of her party received severe injuries. A nationwide strike was called in protest at this attack on 22 and 27 December. The government imposed a ban on political activities on those days to foil the strike, but it was largely ignored. Two people including a student leader from Bangladesh, Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal, died when police fired on a crowd on 22 December.[36]

    Upazila election 1985

    1985 Upazila election results[37]
    PartyChairman
    Janadal190
    Bangladesh Nationalist Party46
    Bangladesh Awami League41
    Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal-JSD15
    Muslim League9

    The government, amid protests, held upazila elections on 15 May 1985 in 251 upazilas and on 20 May in 209. The election was marked by rigging, stuffing, snatching of ballots and electoral fraud. Ershad's newly formed Janadal got 190 candidates as victors. Though BNP was in trouble because of government repression, it got 46 of its leader as upazila chairmen while the Awami League fared worse with 41 upazila chairman.[37]

    Formation of student alliance

    In 1985, BNP's students wing Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal formed Shongrami Chatra Jote with Chatra League (Awranga), Chatra League (Pradhan) and five other student organisations and started its resistance against Ershad.

    General election 1986

    In March 1986, Ershad declared that a national election would be held on 26 April.[38] Both the 7-Party Alliance led by BNP and the 15-Party Alliance led by the Awami League declared a boycott of the election on 17 March. Both called a joint rally on 21 March and a nationwide strike on 22 March as the immediate program to thwart the forthcoming election.

    1986 parliamentary election results[28]
    PartySeatsVote
    Jatiya Party15342.34%
    Bangladesh Awami League7626.16%
    Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami104.61%
    Communist Party of Bangladesh5–
    National Awami Party5–

    The night before the nationwide strike on 22 March, the Awami League called a meeting of the 15-Party Alliance but Sheikh Hasina refused to take part in the meeting. In the meeting majority of the parties including the Awami League opined in favour of the election. General Khalilur Rahman of Awami League was maintaining close contacts with the army headquarters during the meeting that night. Sheikh Hasina was having discussion with General Khalil periodically.[35]

    On the final hours of 21 March 1986, Sheikh Hasina announced that the Awami League and her alliance would participate in the election. Five parties of the alliance parted ways from the Awami League after the announcement and decided to boycott the election. BNP and the 7-Party Alliance with the newly formed 5-Party alliance of leftists started campaigning against the election while the Awami League and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami joined the election.

    The election was largely boycotted. BNP Chairperson mobilised a large pool of political parties and their leaders behind her to boycott the election. Apart from the BNP led 7-Party Alliance and leftist 5-Party Alliance, 17 more parties including BNP (Shah Aziz), Samajbadi Dal (Nirmal Sen), Democratic League (Moshtaq), Democratic League (Oli Ahad), Islamic Democratic League, Islami Andolon (M. A. Jalil), Janata Party, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Labour Party (Maolana Matin), Muslim League (Kamruzzaman), Progatishil Ganatantrik Shakti and so on.[28]

    Khaleda Zia reiterated that the BNP would participate only if:

    1. The fundamental rights are restored
    2. All political prisoners are released
    3. All convictions of politicians by the military courts are cancelled

    The anti-election alliance under BNP called for a nationwide strike on election day. Unrest, voting fraud and malpractices marked the election day according to the opposition parties.[39] Both the Awami League and Jamaat-e-Islami conceded humiliating defeat in the election.[35]

    General Hussain Mohammad Ershad got himself elected on 15 October 1986. Prior to the election, Khaleda Zia was put under house arrest on 13 October.[40]

    In a joint declaration, the two alliances called for "Siege Dhaka" program on 10 November 1987. The government imposed a ban on public gatherings ahead of the program which was defied on the day, and during the program, the capital of the country virtually went under the control of the opposition alliances.[41] This incident infuriated the opposition and a nationwide protest was called on the following day. The government came hard-handed and both Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina was put under house arrest on 11 October.[41] Both the parties and their partners in the movement declared frequent nationwide strikes for the next days until the end of the year.

    General election 1988

    BNP was determined not to join poll under the Ershad regime and decided to boycott the general election of 1988 after the abolishment of the previous parliament. The election was held on 3 March without the participation of any popular party or alliance rather a combined opposition was made led by ASM Abdur Rab. BNP called a nationwide on the Election Day and declared they would resist the election.[42]

    Organizational reformations

    On the advice of Dr. Badruddoza Chowdhury, BNP chief Begum Zia, on 21 June 1988, suspended the national standing committee and executive committee on the party for various reasons including the failures to strengthening the party of leaders. During this opportunity, former military officers were also removed from leadership positions within the party. M. Hamidullah Khan was relieved from his post as Executive Secretary. On 3 July 1988 Barrister Abdus Salam Talukder, a distinguished lawyer, was assigned with the post of Secretary General of the party instead of KM Obaidur Rahman. Soon after the removal of Obaidur, he with Jamal Uddin Ahmed and Abul Hasnat formed a new party with the same name.[43] On 17 July of the same year, Shah Azizur Rahman dissolved the BNP faction with him and joined the party with his followers on 26 August. Barrister Abdus Salam Talukder restructured the BNP, making it a stronger political platform that thrived through the critical time to topple Ershad regime.[44]

    1990 Mass Uprising

    The movement against Ershad started gaining momentum from October 1990. The BNP led 7-party alliance, the Awami League led 8-party alliance and the Leftist 5-party alliance started a movement to usurp Ershad from 10 October 1990 and declared a nationwide strike on that day. The strike claimed 5 lives, including the three BNP activists who were rallying in front of the central office of the Jatiya Party when the Jatiya Party cadres opened fire on the crowd.[45]

    On 28 November, the opposition parties including BNP and its student wing defied the curfew and state of emergency and came out with large processions. The curfew and state of emergency was the last resort for Ershad which became ineffective by the end of November 1990.[46] On 3 December, the protests became more violent and many died. Bombs were hurled at the Sena Kalyan Sangstha building at Motijhil. From 27 November to 3 December, more than fifty protesters died.[46] On 4 December, the mass uprising took place and Ershad declared his resignation.

    Students movement

    Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) which has always been a centre of all popular movements in the history of Bangladesh came under the control of Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal after the election of 3 June 1990.[47][48][49] The Amanullah Aman-Khairul Kabir Khokan panel backed by Chatra Dal won all the posts and took the lead of the students' movement in the University of Dhaka campus.[47][49]

    The Chatra Dal led DUCSU committee forged an alliance with all existing students group in the campus, Sarbadaliya Chatra Oikya Parishad (All-party Students Alliance Council) and staged a demonstration on 1 October 1990.[48] The protests turned violent after the police firing on a rally of Chatra Dal on 10 October that claimed the life of Naziruddin Jehad, a Chatra Dal leader from Sirajganj who came to Dhaka to join the rally against Ershad.[50][51]

    The series of student protests compelled the Ershad regime to think about a safe exit.[52]

    Solidarity of teachers

    On 7 December 1989, the BNP-supported White panel of teachers got the highest number of Deans elected from their panel including Professor Anwarullah Chowdhury, Professor S M Faiz, Assistant Professor M. Anwar Hossain and Associate Professor Humayun Ahmed.[53]

    The pro-BNP White panel of teachers, which dominated the Dhaka University Teachers Association, declared an all-out movement against the Ershad regime in 1990. All the teachers decided to resign from their post on 29 November and confirmed their decision of not returning to classes until the fall of Ershad. The firm reaction from the teachers jeopardised the Ershad regime.[54]

    After the fall of Ershad, because of the commitment to the national interest the White panel of teachers won a decisive victory on 24 December 1990 in the election of Dhaka University Teachers Association once again with Professor Anwarullah Chowdhury as the President of the association with Professor M. Anwar Hossain as the general secretary.[55]

    Caretaker government (2006–2008)

    The military-backed government promised to tackle the longstanding problems of corruption, filing charges against more than 160 politicians, civil servants and businessmen in 2007. Among those charged were Khaleda Zia and her two sons, as well as Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League.[56]

    The Bangladesh Election Commission invited Hafizuddin's faction, rather than Khaleda Zia's, to participate in talks, effectively recognising the former as the legitimate BNP. Khaleda Zia challenged this in court, but her appeal was rejected on 10 April 2008.[56] After her release later that year, Zia was restored to her position as party leader.[57]

    In the 2008 Bangladesh general election, the 4-party alliance led by BNP won 33 seats out of 299 constituencies, of which the BNP alone got 30.[58]

    5th National Council, 2009

    After sanctions by the Election Commission, the party held country-wide events in order for local leaders to play an active role in the national party.[59] The BNP National Council empowered re-elected party chairperson Khaleda Zia to pick other members for the National Executive Committee and Standing Committee.[60] It elected her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, to the powerful post as Senior vice-chairman, in a "move apparently designed to smooth his path to the party helm."[60]

    Post-election campaigns (2012 – present)

    After several movements in a period of severe political unrest between 2012 and 2014 to prevent the ruling party holding the 10th general election in January 2014 without a neutral caretaker government, Khaleda led BNP and its allies in a boycott of the election. Incidents of violence were reported on polling day including bombing of election centres, which the BNP and its allies were accused of. Over 100 people were killed in the 2016 Union Parishad Election in violent clashes between Awami League and BNP supporters.[61] In 2016 the BNP announced its new National Standing Committee, in which Khaleda retained her position as chairperson. New members were recruited while some older members were removed, and various new strategies for party operation were formulated.[62][63] In May 2017 Khaleda revealed BNP's Vision 2030 to gain public support for the next general elections.[64] However the ruling Awami League government denounced Vision 2030 as an act of plagiarism of Awami League's Vision 2021 which they used in the ninth general election, and claimed most of the targets in the Visions were fulfilled by Awami League, thus declaring BNP's Vision 2030 as unoriginal. BNP also announced it will hold processions to hold the 11th general elections under a neutral government. This renewed tensions between BNP and Awami League.

    On 8 February 2018 Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman as per court verdict, were jailed for 5 and 10 years respectively due to involvement in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. While Tarique was on exile, Khaleda would be imprisoned in old Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road. In protest BNP held nationwide demonstrations, which were foiled by well-prepared police force across the nation. A large number of BNP activists were arrested during clashes with the police during the protests against Khaleda's imprisonment.[65]

    On 9 October 2018, the Bangladesh government formed a nine-member group to detect and monitor rumors on social media sites such as Facebook. Tarana Halim said the group's goal was to ensure that "people [have] the right information only."[66] Two months later, approximately 30 accounts linked to the spreading of fictitious news reports regarding the BNP were blocked from Facebook and Twitter.[67]

    Jatiya Oikya Front

    After the jailing of chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, BNP expedited the process to forge a national unity with prominent leaders of the country. In October 2018, the party formally announced its joining of Jatiya Oikya Front with Dr. Kamal Hossain at its forefront.[68]

    There was controversy in the run up to the elections surrounding the nomination of banned Jamaati candidates under the BNP banner. In 2013 the hard-line, right-wing, Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami was banned from registering and therefore contesting in elections by the High Court, citing their charter in violation of the constitution.[69][70] However 25 Jamaati candidates ran in the election, with 22 nominations for BNP and 3 running as independents.[71][72] An investigation was launched but on 23 December the Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said they had examined the related law and "there is no scope for rejecting the Jamaat leaders' candidacy at this moment."[72] On 26 December, just days before the election, Jatiya Oikya Front leader Kamal Hossain expressed his regret about Jamaat's involvement in the elections under his alliance, claiming "had I known [that Jamaat leaders will be given BNP tickets] I would not have been part of it."[73] The media, however, had reported at the end of November that this was happening.[71][74]

    2024 general election

    On 26 March 2020, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's prison sentence was suspended for six months in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was granted a conditional release on the grounds that she receive medical treatment within the country and not travel abroad.[75] The six month suspension has been granted for a total of six consecutive times, with the most recent one being on 18 September 2022.[76] Since Zia's release, the BNP has campaigned for her unconditional release and for the ruling government to allow her to travel abroad.[77]

    In preparation for the upcoming 2023 general election, the BNP has launched a series of rallies which advocate for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of the caretaker government.[78] During a rally held in Dhaka on 10 December 2022, seven BNP lawmakers announced their resignation from the current government in demands of the dissolution of parliament, the formation of a new election commission, and allowing the election to be held under a neutral caretaker government.[79]

    Party leaders

    Current leadership

    National Standing Committee

    As of 20 June 2019, standing committee members are followings:

    Electoral history

    Presidential elections

    Election Party candidate Votes % Result
    1977 (referendum) Ziaur Rahman 33,400,870 98.9% Elected Green tick
    1978 15,733,807 76.6% Elected Green tick
    1981 Abdus Sattar 14,203,958 65.5% Elected Green tick

    Jatiya Sangsad elections

    Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Outcome
    1979 Ziaur Rahman 7,934,236 41.17%
    207 / 300
    		 New Increase 1st Government
    1986 Khaleda Zia Boycotted
    0 / 300
    		 Decrease 207 — Extra-parliamentary
    1988 Boycotted
    0 / 300
    		 Steady 0 — Extra-parliamentary
    1991 10,507,549 30.81%
    140 / 300
    		 Increase 140 Increase 1st Coalition Government
    Feb 1996 11,776,481 100%
    278 / 300
    		 Increase 138 Steady 1st Government
    Jun 1996 14,255,986 33.61%
    116 / 300
    		 Decrease 162 Decrease 2nd Opposition
    2001 22,833,978 40.97%
    193 / 300
    		 Increase 77 Increase 1st Government
    2008 22,757,101 32.50%
    30 / 300
    		 Decrease 163 Decrease 2nd Opposition
    2014 Boycotted
    0 / 300
    		 Decrease 30 — Extra-parliamentary
    2018 11,113,253 13.06%
    7 / 300
    		 Increase 7 Increase 3rd Opposition
    (until 10 December 2022)
    Extra-parliamentary
    (from 10 December 2022)

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "Bangladesh opposition names Zia's son acting head". Pakistan Today. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
    2. ↑ "Bangladesh: Political parties and affiliation" (PDF). gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
    3. ↑ "Bangladesh: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), including its structure, leaders, membership and membership documents, factions, associated organizations and activities; treatment of members and supporters by authorities". 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Wohab, Abdul. ""Secularism" or "no-secularism"? A complex case of Bangladesh". tandfonline.com. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
    5. ↑ "BNP raises its anti-India card again". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
    6. ↑ Rahman, Tahmina (6 September 2022). "From Revolutionaries to Visionless Parties: Leftist Politics in Bangladesh". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 27 October 2023. The center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)…
    7. ↑ Hossain, Farid (15 June 2023). "Why US Congressmen's letter has come as a shock for minority community leaders in Bangladesh". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2023. When right-wing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, won the general election in 2001, the minority Hindus bore the brunt of the celebration.
    8. ↑ প্রতিনিধি, বিশেষ. "২০ দল ভেঙে দুটি জোট, লক্ষ্য যুগপৎ আন্দোলন". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
    9. 1 2 "Why BNP's tirade against PM Hasina's India visit sounds hollow". The Daily Star: Bangladesh's Islamist opposition too seems to be on an overdrive to belittle Hasina whenever she is on a visit to India. But these high-pitch allegations ring hollow. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
    10. 1 2 "Political Parties in Bangladesh" (PDF). Bangladesh Election Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
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    12. ↑ "BNP to hold countrywide protest movement today condemning Nayapaltan clash, arrest of its leaders". The Business Standard. 8 December 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023. The meeting was presided over by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman(...)Tarique and his wife Zubaida Rahman have been living in London since 2008.
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    20. 1 2 3 4 "৩৫ বছরে রাজনীতিতে কি পরিবর্তন এনেছে বিএনপি". BBC News Bangla. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
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