Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, romanized: Bānglādesh Jātīyôtābādī Dôl, abbreviated as BNP) is a major political party in Bangladesh. Founded on 1 September 1978 by the late Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman, with a view of uniting people with a nationalist ideology, BNP later came out as one of the two most dominant parties in Bangladesh, along with its archrival Awami League. Initially being a big tent centrist party, it moved towards more right-wing politics later.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল | |
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| Abbreviation | BNP [ˈbijenpi] |
| Chairperson | Begum Khaleda Zia Tarique Rahman (Acting Chairperson) |
| General Secretary | Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir |
| Spokesperson | Ruhul Kabir Rizvi |
| Senior Vice-Chairman | Tarique Rahman |
| Vice-Chairman | Hafizuddin Ahmed |
| Founder | Ziaur Rahman |
| Founded | 1 September 1978 |
| Preceded by | Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal |
| Headquarters | 28/1 Naya Paltan, Dhaka |
| Newspaper | The Daily Dinkal |
| Student wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal |
| Youth wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal |
| Women's wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Mohila Dal |
| Farmer wing | Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Krishak Dal |
| Trade union wing | Bangladesh Jatyatabadi Sramik Dal |
| Volunteer wing | Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sechchasebak Dal |
| Cleric wing | Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Olama Dal |
| Ideology | Bangladeshi nationalism Conservatism (Bangladeshi) |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| National affiliation | 12 Party Alliance (2022–present) Former:
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| International affiliation | Asia Pacific Democrat Union |
| Colors | Blue |
| Slogan | Bangladesh Zindabad ("Long Live Bangladesh") |
| Anthem | Prothom Bangladesh ("Bangladesh First") |
| Seats in Jatiya Sangsad | 0 / 350 |
| Mayor in City Corporations | 0 / 12 |
| Councillor in City Corporations | 71 / 640 |
| Election symbol | |
Sheaf of Paddy | |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| bnpbd.org | |
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| Part of a series on |
| Nationalism |
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Ziaur Rahman founded the party after the presidential election of 1978 and remained in its leadership until his assassination in 1981. Following Rahman's assassination, his widow, Khaleda Zia, took over leadership of the party and presided as chairperson until her imprisonment, in 2018. Since then, Tarique Rahman, the son of Rahman and Zia, has served as acting chairperson and has run the affairs of the party from London.
Since its creation, the BNP has won the 1979 and 1981 presidential elections as well as the 1991, 1996, and 2001 general elections, respectively. Governments formed under the semi-presidential system were led by Ziaur Rahman, and the parliamentary republics were led by Khaleda Zia, who served as prime minister. The party holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country, with 116 seats in the seventh national election of June 1996. It currently has 7 MPs in parliament following the 2018 general election.
The BNP's student wing was a driving force in the 1990 uprising against the autocratic Ershad rule that culminated in the fall of the regime and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. Begum Khaleda Zia, who served as the party's chairperson from 1983, was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the second female prime minister of a Muslim majority country after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto.
Begum Khaleda Zia is the chairperson of the party, with Tarique Rahman as the senior vice-chairman and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the secretary-general.