The front pages of newspapers featuring Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman and election candidate Tarique Rahman, are pictured in Dhaka on February 13, 2026 a day after Bangladesh's general election. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)The Bangladesh Nationalist Party celebrated a landslide victory on Friday in the first elections held since a deadly 2024 uprising, with leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister. Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed a resounding win, calling for followers to give thanks in prayer rather than celebrate on the streets. “We will join the nation-building effort led by Tarique Rahman,” Md Fazlur Rahman, 45, told AFP. The 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has led Bangladesh since Hasina’s rule ended with her ouster in August 2024.

Source: Punch February 13, 2026 10:20 UTC