Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) president and prime ministerial candidate Tariq Rahman has unofficially won two key seats—Dhaka-17 and Bogra-6—in Bangladesh's 13th parliamentary election. The victory marks a significant political comeback for Rahman after 17 years of exile.

Vote counting continued late into the night on Thursday, with initial trends showing BNP maintaining its lead.

BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan confirmed on Thursday that Tariq Rahman had won both seats. The victory is being seen as a sign of a major shift in Bangladeshi politics, particularly with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League absent from the electoral contest.

Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, returned to Bangladesh after years in exile and has positioned himself as the frontrunner to become the country's next Prime Minister.

Bangladesh voted on February 12 to elect its next government following the August 2024 protests that ousted Sheikh Hasina. An interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has been in place since then.

With Awami League's withdrawal from the elections, the main contest is between:

• BNP - Led by Tariq Rahman
• Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) - Far-right Islamic party

Pre-poll surveys indicate a BNP victory in over 200 seats, which would give the party a commanding majority in the 300-seat parliament. If these projections hold, Tariq Rahman is expected to become Bangladesh's new Prime Minister, marking a dramatic political realignment in the country.

The election results will determine Bangladesh's direction after months of political upheaval following the student-led uprising that ended Hasina's 15-year rule.