Bangladesh’s long-awaited national election is now scheduled for February 12, 2026, and one of the fiercest contests is unfolding in Bogura-6 — the constituency from which Tarique Rahman, widely viewed as the frontrunner to become the country’s next prime minister, is contesting. What makes this race particularly charged is that Tarique is being challenged not merely by a political opponent, but by his own inherited legacy: the legacy of his father, former president Ziaur Rahman.
Tarique’s main challenger in Bogura-6 is Abdullah-al-Waki of the student-driven National Citizens Party (NCP). Waki has made Ziaur Rahman the centrepiece of his campaign, arguing that the BNP — the party Zia founded and which Tarique now leads as acting chairman — has strayed far from Ziaur’s political ideals. In speeches and interviews, Waki presents himself as the “true” heir to Ziaur Rahman’s politics, accusing the BNP of abandoning Ziaur the moment it aligned with the Awami League and adopted the same governance style it once opposed.
Waki, who says he cast the first vote of his life for Ziaur Rahman, is positioning the BNP as an impostor to Ziaur’s legacy, claiming Zia belongs “to the whole nation, not just one party.” His challenge is especially symbolic in Bogura-6, a constituency long dominated by the BNP and formerly represented by Khaleda Zia, Tarique’s mother.
Tarique, meanwhile, is entering the election as the face of a party predicted to win the national polls. Surveys by Prothom Alo show that more than 47 per cent of respondents believe Tarique is most likely to become the next prime minister. With Khaleda Zia critically ill and on life support, Tarique is expected to formally assume full control of the BNP and attempt to lead it back to power after a decade of political turmoil and persecution.
The rivalry in Bogura-6 is unfolding against the backdrop of Ziaur Rahman’s complex and contested legacy. Before leading Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman served as a decorated officer in the Pakistan Army and later defected during the 1971 Liberation War, famously issuing the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After years of upheaval, Ziaur rose to the presidency in 1977, lifted martial law, opened the political landscape, and founded the BNP on a platform of nationalism and multiparty democracy. His assassination in 1981 left behind a fractured political environment that continues to influence Bangladesh’s politics today.
After Ziaur’s death, Khaleda Zia carried the party forward for decades, eventually becoming prime minister three times. Over this period, however, the BNP’s alliances, governance style and ideological shifts have drawn criticism from rivals who argue it has moved far from Ziaur’s original vision.
That criticism is now being wielded as a political weapon against Tarique. Waki argues that “Ziaur Rahman is long gone, and the present BNP is something entirely different,” framing himself as the candidate best aligned with Ziaur’s principles rather than Ziaur’s own son.
The Bogura-6 contest is shaping up to be one of the most symbolic battles of the 2026 national election — a direct confrontation between legacy and reinvention. With Jamaat-e-Islami’s Shafiqur Rahman also in the fray, the seat has become a multi-layered fight for ideological ownership, generational leadership and the future direction of Bangladesh’s democracy.
As the campaign unfolds, Bogura-6 will be closely watched not only for its political significance but for what it reveals about Bangladesh’s struggle to define its next chapter — and who gets to claim the mantle of Ziaur Rahman in the nation’s collective memory.
