The United States and Pakistan have congratulated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on its decisive victory in Bangladesh’s February 12 parliamentary elections, as the party moves closer to forming the next government under the leadership of Tarique Rahman. Earlier this morning, PM Modi congratulated Tarique Rahman for BNP's thumping victory.
US Ambassador To Bangladesh Congratulates BNP
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen extended congratulations to the BNP and its leader in a post on X. “Congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on a successful election and to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Tarique Rahman on your historic victory,” Christensen wrote. He added that the United States looked forward to working with the new leadership to advance shared goals of prosperity and security.
Pakistan’s top leadership also welcomed the election outcome. President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated the people of Bangladesh on what he described as successful and peaceful polls, reaffirming Islamabad’s support for democratic partnership and shared progress.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed similar sentiments, saying he looked forward to working closely with the new Bangladeshi leadership to strengthen historic and multifaceted bilateral ties and promote peace, stability and development in South Asia and beyond.
Earlier today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his warm congratulations to Tarique Rahman for leading the BNP to a decisive victory. “This victory shows the trust of the people of Bangladesh in your leadership,” Modi said, adding that India would continue to support a democratic, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh. He also expressed his intent to work with the new leadership to deepen bilateral relations and advance shared development goals.
BNP Eyeing For Landslide Win
According to unofficial results cited by local media, the BNP-led alliance has secured around 210 of the 300 seats in the 13th parliamentary elections, comfortably crossing the majority mark and paving the way for the formation of a new government.
In key constituency results, Tarique Rahman registered victories in both seats he contested. In Dhaka-17, he secured 72,699 votes, defeating Jamaat-e-Islami candidate S M Khaliduzzaman, who polled 68,300 votes, according to reports by Prothom Alo. Rahman was also unofficially elected from Bogra-6, where he received 216,284 votes from 150 polling centres, far ahead of Jamaat candidate Abidur Rahman Sohel, who secured 97,626 votes.
Tarique Rahman is the son of former Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman, who founded the BNP and assumed the presidency in 1977, and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who led the country during two terms between 1991 and 2006. Following Khaleda Zia’s death in December last year, Rahman formally assumed leadership of the BNP.
