Dhaka, Feb. 11 -- After almost two decades in self-exile, Tarique Rahman, Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is expecting victory in Thursday's election following a change in regime that for years restricted his supporters' voting rights.

Tarique Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 and settled in London, facing various convictions brought against him by the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the BNP's archenemy who led the country until mid-2024, when she was toppled in a student-led uprising.

He returned in late December, received by millions of people who lined his route from the airport to the center of Dhaka. He believes they will back his party at the polls.

"BNP is the most popular party in the country. We have been strugglin...