Bangladesh Nationalist Party

[9] Known as the "Party of the Freedom Fighters of the Battlefield",[9] BNP was founded by Ziaur Rahman after the presidential election of 1978 and remained in its leadership until his assassination in 1981.

[11][12][13] Ziaur Rahman-led governments formed under the semi-presidential system and the parliamentary republics were led by Khaleda Zia, who served as prime minister.

[15] Begum Khaleda Zia is currently the chairperson of the party, with Tarique Rahman as the senior vice-chairman and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the secretary-general.

Major General (retd) M. Majid ul Haq, Professor Syed Ali Ahsan, Shamsul Alam Chowdhury, A.Z.M.

Ziaur Rahman won the election, defeating M. A. G. Osmani of Ganatantrik Oikya Jote (United Democratic Alliance) which was backed by the Bangladesh Awami League.

[20] The constitution of the party was drafted within 21 days of the formation with 76 members with Ziaur Rahman as the chief convener, M. Hamidullah Khan as the Executive Secretary and Dr. A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury was appointed as the Secretary-General.

[21] Founding National Standing Committee A youth wing was formed in September 1978 which was named Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal with Abul Kashem as its chief convener.

Within a couple of months, the central executive committee of Jubo Dal was declared with Abul Kashem and Saifur Rahman as the President and general secretary respectively.

Two people including a student leader from Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal died when police fired on a crowd on 22 December.

BNP was determined not to join the poll under the Ershad regime and decided to boycott the general election of 1988 after the abolishment of the previous parliament.

The election was held on 3 March without the participation of any popular party or alliance rather a combined opposition was led by ASM Abdur Rab.

On 3 July 1988, Barrister Abdus Salam Talukder, a distinguished lawyer, was assigned with the post of Secretary General of the party instead of KM Obaidur Rahman.

Barrister Abdus Salam Talukder restructured the BNP, making it a stronger political platform that thrived through a critical time with a goal to topple Ershad's regime.

[38] On 28 November, the opposition parties including BNP and its student wing defied the curfew and state of emergency and came out with large processions.

[40][41][42] The Amanullah Aman-Khairul Kabir Khokan panel backed by Chatra Dal won all the posts and took the lead of the students' movement in the University of Dhaka campus.

[49] The Bangladesh Election Commission invited Hafizuddin's faction, rather than Khaleda Zia's, to participate in talks, effectively recognising the former as the legitimate BNP.

[53] It elected her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, to the powerful post as Senior vice-chairman, in a "move apparently designed to smooth his path to the party helm.

[58] On 9 October 2018, the Bangladesh government formed a nine-member group to detect and monitor rumors on social media sites such as Facebook.

[60] After the jailing of chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, BNP expedited the process of forging a national unity with prominent leaders of the country.

[64][65] An investigation was launched but on 23 December the Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said they had examined the related law and "there is no scope for rejecting the Jamaat leaders' candidacy at this moment.

[64][67] On 26 March 2020, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's prison sentence was suspended for six months amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was granted a conditional release because she received medical treatment within the country and did not travel abroad.

[70] In preparation for the upcoming 2024 general election, the BNP launched a series of rallies which advocated for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of the caretaker government.

As a result, after the withdrawal of military rule, various politicians, regardless of party & ideological affiliation, joined the newly formed BNP to return to mainstream politics.

Concerning the ideology, Syed Manjurul Islam, a professor of the English department at Dhaka University, stated, "Ziaur Rahman thought that he would do a particular politics based on Bangladesh which the left to the Islamists would be united.

[...] Bangladeshi nationalism, faith in Allah, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim and establishment of a justice-based society - these are BNP was born with these as ideals.

It was adopted from the 19-point program, which declared, "The sovereignty and independence of Bangladesh, golden fruits of the historic liberation struggle, is our sacred trust and inviolable right.

"[citation needed] According to its founder Ziaur Rahman, the "Bangladeshi" identity, based on its history, traditions, culture and geographical territory, is different from the neighbouring nations and unique to itself.

[95] The party fiscally calls itself socialist,[91] but practically BNP promotes economic liberalism and supports a free-market economy with limited intervention.

[100] Furthermore, in January 2025, BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir noted that politics is a specific field which has no direct relation with the religious scriptures like Gita, Bible or Quran.

In 2002, Prime Minister Zia visited Thailand, Myanmar and China and met with the leaders of those countries to expand Bangladesh's foreign policy to the east.

Founder Of BNP, President Ziaur Rahman
Khaleda Zia is the current chairperson and leader of the party.
On the anniversary of the founding of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 2024, leaders and activists paid tribute at the shrine of the party's founder, Ziaur Rahman .