India, Dec. 23 -- After nearly 17 years in self-imposed exile in London, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is scheduled to return to Dhaka on December 25, ahead of national elections due in February 2026.

Often described as the "crown prince" of Bangladeshi politics, Tarique Rahman is the eldest son of the country's founding military ruler and former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, the BNP chairperson who served three terms in office.

His return comes at a moment of heightened political tension, marked by violence, arrests and debates over the direction of the interim government.

Tarique Rahman emerged as a powerful figure within the BNP in the early 2000s, wide...