Khaleda will be President, Tarique PM as per BNP’s plan
Staff Reporter :
BNP Vice-Chairman Barkatullah Bulu on Tuesday said that if the party wins the upcoming national election, Begum Khaleda Zia will assume the presidency while Tarique Rahman will take office as prime minister.
“Half of our electorate consists of women. In 1991, they helped elect Khaleda Zia as prime minister. In the February 2026 election, these mothers and sisters will once again vote for the sheaf of paddy.
Through their mandate, Begum Khaleda Zia will become Bangladesh’s president, and Tarique Rahman the country’s prime minister,” Bulu said.
He made these comments while speaking at a doa and milad mahfil organised by Zia Mancha at Bhasani Bhaban in Nayapaltan, seeking divine blessings for the swift recovery of ailing BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Bulu called upon the nation to pray for Khaleda’s health. “We are here to ask Allah to keep Begum Khaleda Zia alive. Her survival means our survival, and the survival of Bangladesh.”
He alleged that various quarters are conspiring to destabilise the country and put its very existence in jeopardy.
“To save Bangladesh from these ongoing plots, nationalist forces must now come together. Begum Khaleda Zia is the symbol of that unity. Let us pray for her recovery so she may return to us as before. She is the guiding force of our nationalist politics,” he added.
Reflecting on Khaleda’s role, he said that although people from different political backgrounds had joined under the leadership of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman to form the BNP, it was Khaleda Zia who moulded it into a complete, organised and functional political party.
According to Bulu, Khaleda travelled the country for nine years, working directly with grassroots workers, and transformed the BNP into the country’s largest and most popular political platform.
He described the BNP’s 31-point reform outline as “a blueprint for Bangladesh’s freedom for the next century,” asserting that no other group had presented a more comprehensive plan.
“Reform is a continuous process; it began with time itself and will continue until the Day of Judgement.”
Bulu criticised those who deploy religion for narrow political interests, saying the nation is now confronted with serious challenges.
He urged citizens to protect the country from forces that, he claimed, aim to turn Bangladesh into another Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq.
Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital on Sunday night due to a chest infection.
Professor FM Siddiqui, a member of her medical team, confirmed she has a lung infection and is under intensive observation.
BNP’s central office reports that doa mahfils for Khaleda’s recovery are being organised nationwide.
Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal is also set to hold a doa and milad programme at Bhasani Bhaban on Wednesday morning.