Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to visit his ancestral home in Bogura after 19 years, marking a politically and emotionally significant return, party leaders said.
“This visit carries profound political and emotional significance,” a district BNP leader said, as party leaders, activists, and local residents prepared to receive him. BNP supporters have described the occasion as the return of the “son of the house.”
This will be Tarique Rahman’s first visit outside Dhaka since returning to the country after spending 17 years in exile in London.
Bogura district BNP President Rezaul Karim Badsha said the party chief is scheduled to reach Bogura next Sunday. “This visit is not merely an organizational tour; it is a historic moment for the Bogura BNP,” he said.
According to BNP sources, Tarique Rahman will depart from his Gulshan residence in Dhaka on Sunday morning. He is expected to reach Tangail by 1pm, Sirajganj by 3pm, and arrive in Bogura between 8pm and 10pm. He will spend the night at a four-star hotel in the suburban Chilimpur area.
On the morning of January 12, he is scheduled to attend a BNP-organized mass prayer meeting at the Central High School grounds in Bogura city. The event has been organized to pray for the eternal peace of his mother, BNP Chairperson and three-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and his father, party founder Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman.
The prayer meeting is expected to draw a large turnout of party leaders and activists from all upazilas of Bogra and neighboring districts.
After the prayers, Tarique Rahman will travel through Satmatha, Tinmatha, Charmatha, and Matidali intersections along the Dhaka–Rangpur highway to visit the shrine of Hazrat Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar (RA) at Mahasthangarh in Shibganj.
There, he is scheduled to welcome BNP’s candidate for the Bogra-2 (Shibganj) constituency, Upazila BNP President Mir Shah-e Alam. On the way, he will also attend a prayer meeting in memory of Khaleda Zia at Mokamtala.
Later that day, at 2pm, he will travel to Pirganj in Rangpur to participate in various programs, including a visit to the grave of martyr Abu Sayeed on July 1. He is scheduled to reach Dinajpur at 9pm and Thakurgaon at 11pm, where he will stay overnight.
On January 13, Tarique Rahman will visit Thakurgaon at 10am, Panchagarh at 1:30pm, Nilphamari at 4pm, and Lalmonirhat at 7pm. He will return to Rangpur at 11pm and stay overnight.
On January 14, he will attend a program in Rangpur at 10am. At 1pm, he will join a BNP-organized program at the house of his father, former President Ziaur Rahman, in Bagbari, Gabtoli, Bogura, before returning to Dhaka by 8pm the same
Tarique Rahman is contesting the 13th National Parliament election as a direct candidate for the first time as the BNP nominee from Bogra-6 (Sadar) and Dhaka-17 constituencies. Political analysts say the move signals a significant shift in the party’s election strategy.
The Bogra-6 constituency holds historic importance for the BNP. It is the 41st parliamentary constituency of Bogra district, where BNP candidates won all national parliamentary elections held until 2008. Late BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was elected from the constituency four times between 1996 and 2008.
In the 2008 election, Khaleda Zia won seats from Bogra-6, Bogra-7, and Feni-1, later retaining Feni-1. A by-election was held in Bogra-6 in April 2009, when BNP’s Barrister Jamir Uddin Sircar was elected.
In the 2014 election, Awami League’s Ragebul Ahsan Ripu initially contested from Bogra-6 but later withdrew in favor of Jatiya Party candidate Nurul Islam Omar, who was elected unopposed as a Grand Alliance nominee.
In the 2018 national election, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir defeated Nurul Islam Omar by more than 1,50,000 votes, though the seat was later declared vacant as he did not take the oath. In the subsequent by-election on June 24, 2019, BNP candidate Golam Mohammad Siraj won the seat.
In the last by-election held on February 1, 2023, Awami League-backed independent candidate Ragebul Ahsan Ripu was elected, but he lost the seat when parliament was dissolved in 2024 following the July uprising.
Meanwhile, Bogra city has undergone visible preparations ahead of Tarique Rahman’s arrival. A room designated for him at the district BNP office on Nababbari Road has been redesigned, with his name prominently displayed.
Citywide cleanliness and renovation drives are underway. The nearly three-kilometer Satmatha-to-Phultala road, long plagued by potholes, has recently been repaired to facilitate movement. Renovation work has also begun on the long-neglected park at Shakpala intersection under the initiative of the Bogura Municipality.
Once completed, the park—under renovation since November 30—is expected to reopen as a renewed city landmark.
