Back from a 17-year exile after arch rival Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, Rahman leads opinion polls for the prime minister in Thursday’s vote. Dhaka, Bangladesh – It was almost midnight, but tens of thousands of people were still gathering for a campaign rally in Gazipur, a garment manufacturing hub north of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. Many had been waiting for hours to hear Tarique Rahman, who succeeded as the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) following the death of his mother and Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, in December. BNP leaders saw the turnout as evidence that their party, long oppressed under 15 years of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, was able to mobilise supporters and rebuild its strength as it seeks to return to power i...