A new chapter dawns in Bangladesh politics with the upcoming oath-taking ceremony on February 17. BNP leader Tarique Rahman, fresh off a massive electoral triumph, will headline the event at Dhaka’s National Parliament South Plaza at 4 PM. Over 1,200 foreign guests are anticipated, turning this into a diplomatic spectacle.
The February 12 elections delivered a landslide for BNP, clinching 209 seats from declared results, plus leads in Chittagong-2 and Chittagong-4. Jamaat-e-Islami grabbed 68, with coalition partners adding more. This outcome ousts the interim setup under Muhammad Yunus and signals a conservative resurgence.
Spotlight falls on star invitees: Bhutan’s PM Tshering Tobgay, India’s Om Birla, Pakistan’s Ahsan Iqbal, Nepal’s Balanand Sharma, Sri Lanka’s Nalinda Jayatissa, UK’s Seema Malhotra, and possibly Maldives’ Mohamed Muizzu. Diplomatic invitations went out widely, though not all have confirmed.
New Delhi officially endorsed Birla’s attendance via MEA, praising the ‘enduring bond’ with Bangladesh. ‘This reflects India’s commitment to democratic ideals linking our peoples,’ it noted, welcoming Rahman’s ‘vision endorsed by the masses.’
Behind the scenes, the Parliament Secretariat hustles to ready the unconventional outdoor venue. Historically held indoors, this shift adds pomp. Bangladesh hasn’t had a male PM in 35 years—a milestone if Rahman takes the helm.
But optimism tempers with caution. Analysts flag escalating instability and radical Islam as key hurdles, legacies from Yunus’s interim rule. With South Asian neighbors and global powers converging, the ceremony spotlights Bangladesh’s pivot toward stability or strife.