The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, abbreviated as BNP, is a major centre to centre-right political party in Bangladesh. It was founded by the former president Ziaur Rahman in 1978, adhering the ideology of Bangladeshi nationalism. It is one of the two contemporary mainstream parties in the country, alongside the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and the ruling party since 2026.
It was Known as the "Party of the Freedom Fighters of the Battlefield" during its establishment, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was founded on 1 September 1978 by President Ziaur Rahman and remained in his leadership until he was assassinated 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. From 2018 until 2025, Tarique Rahman, the son of Rahman and Zia, ran the affairs of the party as the acting chairperson. Upon Zia's death in 2025, Rahman became the chairperson of the party.
Since its founding, the BNP has won the 1981, 1991, and 2001 presidential elections, and the 1979, 1991, February 1996, 2001, and 2026 general elections. BNP members Ziaur Rahman, Abdus Sattar, Abdur Rahman Biswas, A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, and Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar have served as the country's president, while Mashiur Rahman, Shah Azizur Rahman, Khaleda Zia, and Tarique Rahman have served as the country's prime minister. Ziaur Rahman-led governments formed under the semi-presidential system and the parliamentary republics were led by Khaleda Zia, who served as prime minister. Khaleda Zia, who served as the party's chairperson from 1983, became the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh and the second female prime minister of a Muslim-majority country after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto. The party holds the record of being the largest opposition in the history of parliamentary elections of the country with 116 seats in the June 1996 general election.
A big tent party, the BNP espouses a stance that combines a sense of national pride with a commitment to traditional values, while emphasising advancing the interests of corporations. It maintains a solid stance on relations with India while also embracing a blend of moderate Islam and traditional Bengali culture. The party has faced sustained criticism for corruption, political violence, and poor governance, particularly during its 2001–2006 tenure, with controversies such as the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack, the 2004 arms and ammunition haul in Chittagong, and Hawa Bhaban's alleged role as a parallel power center. The party's affiliated wings have been repeatedly accused of extortion and violence, including a 2025 daylight murder linked to its student and youth fronts, further deepening public discontent and damaging the BNP's reputation. As of 2026, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's strongest demographics include working-age voters, farmers, labourers, Sufis, Ahmadis, Hindus, and indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
History
Predecessors Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal On 22 February 1978, a new party, Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal (JAGODAL), was formed with Justice Abdus Sattar as the coordinator. Most of the prominent figures were from the advisory council that was running the country at that time. It was the first attempt to create a platform for the country's nationalists. Major General (retd) M. Majid ul Haq, Professor Syed Ali Ahsan, Shamsul Alam Chowdhury, A.Z.M. Enayetullah Khan, M. Hamidullah Khan, Jakaria Chowdhury, Professor Dr. M. R. Khan, and Saifur Rahman were prominent figures. JAGODAL was dissolved on 28 August 1978 to consolidate its membership under the Jatiyatabadi Front.
Jatiyatabadi Front On 1 May 1978, the Jatiyatabadi Front or Nationalist Front was formed with Ziaur Rahman as the front's chief, and JAGODAL joined soon after its formation. A major portion of NAP (Bhashani) joined the front as well with Mashiur Rahman. The election symbol of NAP (Bhashani), a sheaf of paddy, would become the symbol of the BNP. Shah Azizur Rahman with some of his colleagues from Muslim League. Kazi Zafar Ahmed and a faction of the United Peoples Party, Maulana Matin with his Labour Party, and minority leader Rashraj Mandal with Tafsili Jati Federation also joined.
Ziaur Rahman was their candidate for the presidential election of 3 June 1978. 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.
Establishment The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was established on 1 September. The newly established party soon emerged as a "hotchpotch" of leftists, rightists, opportunists, and Pakistan-era establishmenterians.
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.
During this time, it attracted a large pool of supporters and activists who joined the newly formed student wing and youth wing. After the formation of the government, the first executive committee of the party was declared. A national standing committee was formed as the highest decision-making forum of the party with 12 members.
A youth wing was formed in September 1978, which was named Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal with Abul Kashem as its chief convener. The Dhaka unit convener was Saifur Rahman. 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. Mirza Abbas became the Dhaka unit President with Kamruzzaman Ayat Ali as the Secretary-General.
Early years (1979–1982) The BNP formed its first government after the 1979 Bangladesh general election. The first session of the parliament was on 2 April 1979. It elected Shah Azizur Rahman as prime minister and leader of the parliament. Mirza Ghulam Hafiz was elected as the speaker of the parliament. Asaduzzaman Khan from the Awami League became the leader of the opposition.
On 30 May 1981, the founder of the party, President Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in the Chittagong Circuit House by a small group of military officials. After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman, large crowds started protesting in major cities, including Dhaka and Chittagong. The funeral of Ziaur Rahman became a huge event with the participation of millions of people in Dhaka.
In the 1981 Bangladeshi presidential election, Abdus Sattar was elected. He formed the National Security Council to involve the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Vice President Mirza Nurul Huda resigned from his post in March 1982.
Struggle for democracy (1982–1990) Army Chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad thwarted the elected government of Justice Sattar on 24 March 1982 and replaced him with Justice A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury. The BNP was thrown out of power. Many of its leaders were imprisoned, including former Minister S.A. Bari, Saifur Rahman, Habibullah Khan, Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, Atauddin Khan, Jamal Uddin Ahmed, K.M. Obaidur Rahman, Abul Hasnat, and Moudud Ahmed. 233 BNP leaders were arrested from March to July 1982.
7-Party Alliance From 1983, Begum Khaleda Zia became the de facto decision-maker of the party. Under her leadership, the BNP formed a new anti-government alliance against the autocratic Ershad regime. It was named after the number of parties with it, the 7-party alliance.
The BNP launched a massive anti-government movement after coordinating with the Awami League-led 15-party alliance in September 1983. The 7-Party Alliance arranged a mass gathering and called a nationwide strike on 1 November 1983. The strike had successful results. After that, the alliance called to surround the Secretariat on 28 November 1983 along with the 15-Party Alliance. Thousands of BNP activists led by then Executive Secretary (later designated Office Secretary) M. Hamidullah Khan, surrounded the secretariat building at Paltan and made a large hole in the southern corner of the boundary wall of the building. The police retaliated with indiscriminate firing of live bullets. M. Hamidullah Khan was arrested on 3 November in the afternoon from his residence at Dhaka Cantonment. A ban on political activities was imposed that night, and Khaleda Zia was kept under house arrest. The government was severely shaken at its core. A long curfew and ban on politics were imposed.
On 29 February 1984, Ershad declared that the ban on politics would be lifted on 26 March and on 27 May, both the presidential and national elections would be held. The 7-Party Alliance asked for the national election before the presidential election. After lifting the ban, Khaleda Zia attended an extended meeting of the party on 1 April, where she was made the acting chairperson of the party. In May, the Chairperson Justice Sattar resigned, and Khaleda Zia was made the chairperson of the party.
Under the leadership of Khaleda Zia, the first major step BNP took was to expel leaders like Shah Azizur Rahman, Moudud Ahmed, AKM Maidul Islam, Abdul Alim, and Barrister Sultan Ahmed Chowdhury from the party. These leaders formed a committee with Shah Aziz as the President and AKM Maidul Islam as the general secretary. This faction later joined the Jatiya Front and Jatiya Party.
On 23 September 1984, while addressing a rally in Bogra, 10 to 12 handmade grenades were thrown at the rally, and some of them were aimed at the stage, where Khaleda Zia was giving her speech. Khaleda Zia narrowly escaped injury while eleven members of her party received severe injuries. A nationwide strike was called in protest at this attack on 22 and 27 December. The government imposed a ban on political activities on those days to foil the strike, but it was largely ignored. Two people, including a student leader from Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal, died when police fired on a crowd on 22 December.
The government, amid protests, held upazila elections on 15 May 1985 in 251 upazilas (subdistricts) and on 20 May in 209 subdistricts. The election was marked by rigging, stuffing, snatching of ballots and electoral fraud. Ershad's newly formed Janadal (People's Party) fielded 190 candidates, with 190 of them emerging victorious. Though BNP struggled because of government repression, it got 46 of its leaders as subdistrict chairmen, while the Awami League fared worse with 41 subdistrict chairmen.
In 1985, BNP's student wing Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal formed Shongrami Chatra Jote with Chatra League (Awranga), Chatra League (Pradhan) and five other student organisations and started its resistance against Ershad.
1986 general election In March 1986, Ershad declared that a national election would be held on 26 April. Both the 7-Party Alliance led by BNP and the 15-Party Alliance led by the Awami League declared a boycott of the election on 17 March. Both called a joint rally on 21 March and a nationwide strike on 22 March as the immediate program to thwart the forthcoming election.
The night before the nationwide strike on 22 March, the Awami League called a meeting of the 15-Party Alliance, but Sheikh Hasina refused to take part in the meeting. In the meeting, the majority of the parties, including the Awami League, were in favour of the election. General Khalilur Rahman of Awami League maintained close contact with the army headquarters during the meeting that night. Sheikh Hasina was discussing with General Khalil periodically.