Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, an 80-year-old political stalwart, is set to contest in the upcoming February elections, as confirmed by her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Monday. A dominant figure in the nation’s tumultuous political landscape, Zia’s return marks a significant moment in the country’s power struggles. Her party is widely regarded as the frontrunner in the polls. Zia will contest in three constituencies, according to Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a senior BNP leader. Her participation comes after years of imprisonment and health challenges under the rule of her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in a mass uprising in August 2024. Zia, who served as prime minister three times, was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges under Hasina’s administration, which also restricted her from seeking medical treatment abroad. She was released last year following Hasina’s fall from power. Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who has been living in the UK since 2008, will also run in the elections. Rahman, acquitted of serious charges after Hasina’s departure, has long claimed political persecution. The political rivalry between Zia and Hasina, often referred to as the ‘Battle of the Begums,’ has shaped Bangladesh’s politics for decades. This feud traces back to the 1975 assassination of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the subsequent rise of Zia’s husband, Ziaur Rahman, who became president in 1977 before his own assassination in 1981. Zia inherited the BNP leadership and emerged as a formidable political force, eventually alternating power with Hasina over the years.