Was Tarique Rahman’s Youth Outreach More Than an Election Strategy?

After 17 years in exile, Tarique Rahman, then acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned to Dhaka on December 25, 2025. By then, people’s political aspirations had changed significantly through a mass uprising and political transition following a long period of authoritarian rule. 

In the aftermath of the July 2024 uprising, Bangladesh’s youth had moved to the center of politics. They not only led the movement that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s government, but also made up a significant portion of the electorate that would choose the next. The youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP) emerged in the political arena; most of its leaders had been at the forefront of the July uprising. Ahead of the national election, Jamaat-e-Islami, in alliance with the NCP and several other Islamist parties, was mounting a political challenge.

Rahman and his party did not take long to recognize the reality. After returning home, he placed young people at the center of various programs, policy plans, and the party’s election manifesto. During the election campaign, several events were organized exclusively for the youth. At that time, analysts viewed them as part of the BNP’s strategy to attract young voters.

The formal campaign for Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary election began on January 22 this year. On that day, Rahman was in Sylhet, a city around 250 kilometers from Dhaka. He attended an event titled “The Plan: Youth Policy Talk with Tarique Rahman,” where several hundred students from different educational institutions heard the leader of the country’s largest political party explain his plans for nation-building. The students also shared their views and raised questions. Rahman responded to them and sought their suggestions. A similar event was later held in Chattogram. He also engaged directly with the youth through other programs.

The BNP’s election manifesto contained many promises for the youth. The party pledged to create 10 million new jobs within five years by attracting domestic and foreign investment. The government is now making efforts to bring in such investment. During recent visits to Malaysia and China, Rahman – now the prime minister – met executives of leading business organizations, and the government has repeatedly said that Bangladesh is open for investment. 

Law and order has improved since the BNP government took office on February 17, and the political environment has become relatively stable. However, the employment pledge faces structural constraints. Bangladesh’s unreliable energy supply has prevented hundreds of industrial units from beginning production, even after completing other preparations. Unless the government can improve energy security and infrastructure, investment-driven job creation will remain difficult.

Other BNP commitments included sending 10 million workers abroad, introducing unemployment benefits, involving young people in national development and state-building, providing freelancing and outsourcing training at higher education institutions, and offering small office spaces to young entrepreneurs in IT parks. It will take time to determine how many of these commitments are ultimately implemented.

As the government approaches the completion of its first six months in office, a question is being raised: were these election-time promises and the BNP leadership’s attempts to connect with the youth merely strategies to secure their votes? The question is not unreasonable, particularly after Gen Z students sitting for the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations recently blocked roads in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country for  a few days. There may be questions about the extent to which young people are being given opportunities to participate in state-building. 

Nevertheless, the BNP’s top leader has remained engaged with the youth since coming to power. Before taking office, Rahman prioritized dialogue over the traditional format of one-way speeches at rallies and public events. Continuing that approach may have become more difficult after assuming the office of prime minister. Even so, he has occasionally invited content creators, athletes, and entrepreneurs to his office to hear about their challenges and concerns. There have been around a dozen such examples since February 17.

The BNP government launched Notun Kuri Sports, a nationwide program to identify talented children and adolescents; transformed the parliament complex into an open civic education platform for students; and allocated 5 billion taka for a startup fund. 

A review of the government’s activities suggests that it is placing emphasis on protecting the future through climate action and developing the younger generation. Programs are under way to plant 250 million trees and excavate canals over five years. At the same time, the government is prioritizing technical education and introducing compulsory foreign-language learning.

Yet the BNP’s credibility with Bangladesh’s youth will ultimately depend not on meetings and programs, but on whether the government can deliver jobs, fair recruitment, and meaningful participation in state-building.

Bangladesh had a total of 127,711,793 registered voters in the last election. Under the country’s National Youth Policy, citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 are defined as youth. According to Election Commission data, nearly 50 million voters fell within this age group. That means more than one-third of the electorate was young. It is clear that they played a decisive role in the BNP’s electoral victory. As expected, they now want the government to fulfil promises such as employment opportunities.

Whether they are described as Gen Z or simply as the youth, they want access to education and employment. Recruitment and investment decisions must also be protected from political interference. After all, the July 2024 mass uprising began with intense student dissatisfaction over the quota system for entry into government service, even if the wider context for the uprising was created by the Awami League government’s decade and a half of authoritarian rule. 

Tarique Rahman and his party’s youth engagement before and after the election sought to introduce a new approach to politics. Clearly, they understood the demands of the time. But it is still too early to determine whether those promises will ultimately be implemented.