Zia's son, in exile for 17 years, to return to Bangladesh on December 25

DHAKA: After being in self-exile for over 17 years in the UK, former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia's son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is scheduled to return home on Dec 25 - with speculation rife that he would lead the party in the Feb 12 parliamentary polls in view of his mother's poor health and her political heir.

Bangladesh's largest party BNP on Monday said Tarique will complete formalities to become a registered voter on Dec 27 after returning home from London on Dec 25. On Sunday, chief adviser Muhammad Yunus in a meeting discussed in detail various issues, including the return of Tarique. Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain earlier this month had said the govt can issue a 'one-time' travel pass within a day, facilitating Rahman's return to home if he wishes to come back home.


His return comes amid a spree of incidents of violionce following the announcement of the polls last month. The BNP-led alliance is pitted against the coalition headed by Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

In May, Tarique had stressed on need for elections and questioned Yunus' mandate to make long-term foreign policy decisions as his duties end once an elected govt is in place. It was the BNP and its allies that had pressured the interim govt for early elections, despite strong opposition from several quarters.