The New Nation Explainer: Can Tarique carry weight of Khaleda’s political legacy?
Abu Jakir :
Khaleda Zia, widely regarded by her supporters as the “Mother of Democracy” and an uncompromising leader of Bangladesh, died on Tuesday at the age of 80.
Political analysts have described her death as an irreparable loss for the nation, not only because of her long dominance in national politics but also because of the vacuum it creates at a critical moment of political transition.
With her passing, attention has now shifted to her eldest son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile last week, raising the central question of whether he can uphold Khaleda Zia’s political legacy and meet public expectations.
Khaleda Zia was the first woman to serve as prime minister of Bangladesh and one of the most consequential figures in the country’s modern political history. She died on Tuesday morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka.
For more than four decades, she stood at the centre of Bangladesh’s turbulent political life, shaping its democratic journey through confrontation, endurance and compromise.
Her entry into politics was not driven by personal ambition but by national crisis, following the assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman, in 1981.
Born Khaleda Khanam in 1946, she led a largely private life until her husband’s death thrust her into the political arena.
When she joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the early 1980s, the party was fragmented and under threat from military rule.
Within a short period, she rose to lead the BNP and became the principal figure opposing General Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s regime.
Her refusal to compromise with military authority, even when other political forces chose accommodation, helped sustain the anti-Ershad movement and ultimately contributed to the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1991.
That year marked a turning point, as Khaleda Zia became the country’s first female prime minister after leading the BNP to electoral victory.
One of her most significant achievements was overseeing the restoration of the parliamentary system through a constitutional amendment passed by consensus, a rare moment of unity in Bangladesh’s politics.
Over the next two decades, she would serve as prime minister three times, alternating power with her long-time rival Sheikh Hasina, in a political rivalry that came to define the country.
Her later years, however, were marked by intense political polarization, legal battles, imprisonment and prolonged illness.
Following her defeat in the 2008 election, Khaleda Zia faced a steady decline in political space, culminating in her conviction in corruption cases and years of restricted movement due to ill health.
Supporters viewed her treatment as politically motivated, while critics argued it reflected long-standing governance failures. Regardless of perspective, her absence from active politics did little to diminish her symbolic importance within the BNP.
The fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in mid-2024 briefly restored Khaleda Zia’s public presence.
Though physically frail, she returned from medical treatment abroad and re-emerged as a unifying figure for the party.
Her death now closes that chapter and places renewed focus on Tarique Rahman, who has led the BNP in exile since 2008.
Tarique Rahman’s returns after 17 year is politically significant. His exile was the result of a period marked by arrests, cases and what the BNP has long described as a politics of vengeance. With Khaleda Zia gone, Tarique is now the undisputed heir to the party’s leadership.
Yet questions remain about whether he can command the same moral authority, mass appeal and unifying presence that defined his mother’s role, particularly at a time when Bangladesh is once again debating the future of its democracy.
Khaleda Zia leaves behind a complex legacy. She was not without flaws, and her time in office was marked by controversy and hard political choices.
Yet even many critics acknowledge that her resistance to authoritarianism, insistence on electoral legitimacy and willingness to relinquish power under pressure helped preserve Bangladesh’s democratic framework during critical moments. In death, she remains inseparable from the nation’s political story.
As Bangladesh mourns her passing, the country also stands at a crossroads. Whether Tarique Rahman can translate his mother’s legacy into effective leadership, and whether the BNP can fill the space she leaves behind, will shape the next phase of Bangladesh’s political future.