Two of them, Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu, belong to Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which won the first national election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went into exile in India, while the third, ATM Azharul Islam, is a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Their return to political power comes amid heightened regional attention, as their past charges include involvement in anti-India terrorist activities and war crimes, making their victory a development with significant strategic implications.
The three leaders are now set to take their seats in Bangladesh’s new parliament, a development coming amid a delicate phase in India-Bangladesh relations.
As per reports, in December 2024, a Bangladesh high court acquitted Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and others in two cases linked to the August 21, 2004 grenade attack targeting Sheikh Hasina, which killed 24 people, though Hasina narrowly escaped.
Lutfozzaman Babar won his seat by 1.6 lakh votes and his party colleague, Abdus Salam Pintu, poses greater concern from India’s perspective. A year after Babar’s acquittal, Pintu too was cleared of charges.
Notably, Pintu had been accused of supporting Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (Huji), responsible for attacks in India, including blasts at a court in Varanasi in 2006, Ajmer Sharif Dargah in 2007, and Delhi in 2011.
The third leader, ATM Azharul Islam, is a long-time Jamaat figure who served as the party’s secretary general until 2012. He was allegedly responsible for over 1,200 deaths during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War and was accused in 13 rape cases. In 2014, he was sentenced to death, but all charges were later overturned following Yunus’s return.
All three leaders, once facing death sentences, are now poised to enter the “sacred hall of democracy” in Bangladesh following Tarique Rahman’s oath ceremony.
From New Delhi’s strategic perspective, the election outcome marks a clear shift from the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, which Indian officials privately describe as deeply disruptive.
The focus now turns to Tarique Rahman, whom Indian officials describe as someone they are “cautiously optimistic” about. While acknowledging past differences with BNP governments, New Delhi hopes Rahman will adopt a more pragmatic diplomatic and political approach, guided by economic considerations and regional stability.
According to the BBC, the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secured a decisive victory in the recent elections, marking a remarkable comeback for its leader, Tarique Rahman, after 17 years of self-imposed exile. Nearly 60% of voters participated in the first national election since student-led protests removed the autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina two years ago.
The BNP won 212 seats in parliament, while the Islamist-led Jamaat-e-Islami alliance secured 77 seats, according to election commission figures reported by AFP. A major challenge for the BNP will be to unite the country, including supporters of the Awami League who feel marginalized, noted BBC correspondent Azadeh Moshiri.