Why Bangladeshis Are Mocking Tarique Rahman

18th February 2026 at 4:44 PM

1 minute read

Dhaka : Following the BNP’s landslide victory in the Bangladesh elections, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has given the party’s chief and now the prime minister. NCP leader, Nasiruddin Patwary, who had labelled BNP heavyweight Mirza Abbas, a “chaandabaaj” (meaning extortionist or illegal fundraiser), was among the first to call Tarique Rahman an “engineer” on Facebook.

Alongside threats of launching protests if the BNP sidesteps the July Charter, the Jamaat alliance is attacking the BNP supremo for what it called the “stealing of poll mandate”. Several leaders of the Jamaat aliance, including the NCP, have alleged that the BNP-led Tarique Rahman “engineered” the election results. These allegations and name-calling have resulted in many people—allied with the NCP and Jamaat—making memes and posting jokes on social media. Some have made AI-generated photos and videos showing Tarique Rahman wearing a hard hat.

A Facebook user, Amir Hossain Robin, wrote, “London theke engineer pass”. It loosely translates to “engineer passed from London”. It is a sarcastic swipe suggesting that the so-called “engineering” was imported or masterminded from London, where Tarique Rahman had been living in exile for 17 years. Another Facebook user, Maksuda Akter, wrote, “The man who became an engineer without educational qualifications”.

Alongside allegations of poll engineering, the Jamaat bloc has alleged that the BNP used violence, repression, killings and rape to turn the results in its favour. These allegations and labelling came even as the Jamaat-led alliance filed formal complaints with the Election Commission, challenging the results in 32 constituencies. After the results were declared and allegations of poll rigging surfaced, a journalist asked Tarique Rahman at a press conference on February 14 whether he had resorted to any “engineering” to secure the 200 plus seats.