By Kalam Azad 

  BOGURA, Jan 8, 2026 (BSS) – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to visit after 19 years his ancestral home in Bogura where proud fans and supporters are waiting to greet him with a hearty embrace.

   “His (Tarique’s) visit here has a profound significance both in terms of politics and emotion,” a district BNP leader said.

   Festive mood visibly gripped BNP district leaders, activists and ordinary residents who describe the occasion as the return of the “son of the house”.

   This will be Tarique’s first visit outside Dhaka since his return to the country after 17 years of life in exile in London. 

   Bogura district BNP President Rezaul Karim Badsha said that their leader would reach Bogura next Sunday.

   “The visit not merely an organizational tour but a historic moment for the Bogura BNP,” he said.

   BNP sources said their acting chairman would depart from his Gulshan residence in Dhaka on Sunday morning, expected to reach Tangail by 1:00 pm, Sirajganj at 3:00 pm, and eventually arrive in Bogura in between 8:00 and 10:00 pm. 

   He will spend the night at a four-star hotel in the suburban Chilimpur area.

   On January 12 morning he is scheduled to attend a BNP-organised mass prayer meeting at the Central High School grounds in Bogura city.

   District BNP organized the event to pray for the eternal peace of Tarique’s mother BNP chairperson and three-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and his father party’s founder Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman. 

   The event is expected to draw a large turnout of party leaders and activists from all upazilas of Bogura and neighboring districts.

   
    After the prayers, Tarique will travel via Satmatha — the heart of the city — and Tinmatha, Charmatha, and Matidali intersections on the Dhaka–Rangpur highway to visit the shrine of Hazrat Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar (R.A.) at Mahasthangarh in Shibganj.

    There, he will welcome BNP’s candidate for Bogura-2 (Shibganj) constituency, Upazila BNP President Mir Shah-e Alam.  On the way, he is also scheduled to attend a prayer meeting in memory of Khaleda Zia at Mokamtala.

    Later that day, at 2:00 pm, he will head to Pirganj in Rangpur to participate in various programmes, including a visit to the grave of martyr Abu Sayeed on July 1.

    He is scheduled to reach Dinajpur at 9:00 pm and Thakurgaon at 11:00 pm, where he will spend the night.

    On January 13, Tarique Rahman will visit Thakurgaon at 10:00 am, Panchagarh at 1:30 pm, Nilphamari at 4:00 pm, and Lalmonirhat at 7:00 pm. 

    He will return to Rangpur at 11:00 pm and stay overnight and on the following day, January 14, he will attend a program in Rangpur at 10:00 am.

    At 1:00 pm, he will join a BNP-organized programme at the house of his father, former President Ziaur Rahman, in Bagbari, Gabtoli, Bogura. He is scheduled to return to Dhaka by 8:00 pm the same day.

    Tarique Rahman is contesting the 13th National Parliament election as a direct candidate for the first time as the BNP’s nominee from Bogura-6 (Sadar) and Dhaka-17 constituencies.

    Political analysts say this move signals a significant shift in BNP’s election strategy.

    The Bogura-6 constituency holds historic importance for BNP. It is the 41st parliamentary constituency of Bogura district, where BNP candidates won all national parliamentary elections held until 2008.

    Late BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was elected from this constituency four times in between 1996 and 2008.

    In the 2008 election, Begum Zia won seats from Bogra-6, Bogura-7, and Feni-1, later retained Feni-1. 

    A by-election was held in Bogra-6 in April 2009, when BNP’s Barrister Jamir Uddin Sircar was elected. 

    In 2014 election, Awami League’s Ragebul Ahsan Ripu initially contested from Bogra-6 but later withdrew in favor of Jatiya Party candidate Nurul Islam Omar, who was elected unopposed as a Grand Alliance nominee.

   In the 2018 national election, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir defeated Nurul Islam Omar by more than 150,000 votes, though the seat was later declared vacant as he did not take the oath. 

   In the subsequent by-election on June 24, 2019, BNP candidate Golam Mohammad Siraj won from the seat. In the last by-election held on February 1, 2023, Awami League-backed independent candidate Ragebul Ahsan Ripu was elected, but he lost the seat when parliament was dissolved in 2024 following the July Uprising.

   Bogura city took a new look ahead of Tarique’s arrival. The room designated for him at the district BNP office on Nababbari Road has been redesigned, with his name displayed prominently above it.

   Citywide cleanliness and renovation drives are underway. The nearly three-kilometer Satmatha-to-Phultala road, long plagued by potholes, has recently been repaired to facilitate movement. 

   Renovation work has also begun on the long-neglected park at Shakpala intersection under the initiative of the Bogura Municipality.

   Once completed, the park—under renovation since November 30—is expected to reopen for the public as a renewed city landmark.