Tasmia Pradhan (; born 1980) is a Bangladeshi barrister and politician who has led the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (JAGPA) since 2018 and has served as a member of parliament for a reserved women's seat since May 2026.

A barrister trained in the United Kingdom, Pradhan practised in Dhaka law chambers before taking over the leadership of JAGPA, the party founded by her father Shafiul Alam Pradhan, following the death of her mother Rehana Pradhan in 2018. Her tenure has been marked by a dispute over the party's alliances that split the organisation, and by a successful legal challenge to the Bangladesh Election Commission's cancellation of the party's registration, a case she argued herself in the High Court. She entered parliament in 2026 as a nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led eleven-party electoral alliance.

Early life and education Pradhan was born in 1980 in her maternal grandfather's house in Bogura. She completed her secondary education at Mohammadpur Preparatory School & College in 1996 and her higher secondary education at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in 1998, then took A-levels at Bhuiyan Academy. She travelled to Britain in 2000 to study law, and after being called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn she returned to Bangladesh in 2007 to practise as a barrister.

Legal career On returning to Bangladesh, Pradhan joined the chambers of Dr. Hamid & Associates. After a year she moved to Moudud Ahmed & Associates, the firm of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and former law minister Moudud Ahmed, where she worked for six years before establishing her own chambers. She has continued to appear in court as a litigator during her political career, including in the proceedings that restored her party's registration.

Political career Party leadership JAGPA was founded in 1980 by Pradhan's father, Shafiul Alam Pradhan, who led it until his death in 2017; her mother, Rehana Pradhan, then headed the party until her own death in October 2018. Tasmia Pradhan succeeded her mother in November 2018, becoming the third leader in the party's history.

Her accession coincided with a rupture in the party. A dispute arose with the 20 Party Alliance, of which JAGPA was a component, over the allocation of seats for the 2018 general election; when the party left the alliance for the Jatiya Mukti Mancha led by Oli Ahmed, the general secretary Khandaker Lutfar Rahman opposed the move. JAGPA split into two factions, with Pradhan leading one of them. She was re-elected president at a party council in November 2019.

At the 2018 general election Pradhan stood in the Panchagarh-2 constituency, becoming the first woman to contest that seat since the independence of Bangladesh.

Under Pradhan the party has campaigned on the anti-Indian and anti-hegemonic platform associated with her father, and after the 2024 uprising she has been a vocal critic of the Awami League. The party remained outside the 20 Party Alliance after its dissolution in December 2022, and in 2025 it joined the eleven-party electoral alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.

Party registration case JAGPA had been registered with the Bangladesh Election Commission on 20 November 2008, but its registration was cancelled in January 2021. Pradhan, as party president, filed a writ petition challenging the decision and argued the case herself; on 19 March 2025 the High Court Division declared the cancellation unlawful. Acting on the judgment, the Election Commission issued a gazette notification on 2 November 2025 restoring the party's registration together with its "hookah" symbol. The party subsequently applied to add the acronym "JAGPA" to its registered name and to replace the hookah with a spectacles symbol, which the commission reserved for it.

Member of parliament For the reserved women's seats of the thirteenth parliament, Pradhan was one of thirteen candidates nominated by the eleven-party alliance, and the only one from JAGPA; Jamaat-e-Islami gave up three of its share of seats to allied parties, among them hers. No candidate withdrew and the reserved-seat members were returned unopposed, the Election Commission publishing the gazette at the end of April 2026. Pradhan took the oath of office on 3 May 2026 at the parliament building in Dhaka, administered by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

Personal life Pradhan is the daughter of Shafiul Alam Pradhan, the founding president of the Jatiya Ganatantrik Party and a former general secretary of the Chhatra League. Her paternal grandfather, Gamir Uddin Pradhan, was speaker of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.

Her mother, Rehana Pradhan, was a member of the central committee of the Chhatra League during her student years and later taught in the sociology department of Lalmatia Women's College. She served as the second president of JAGPA and died in 2018. Her brother, Rashed Pradhan, is a vice-president and the spokesperson of the party.

Pradhan married S. B. A. Siddiqui, an officer of the Bhuiyan Academy, in 2001. They have three daughters.

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