Naomi Hossain, global research professor at SOAS University of London, suggested familiarity and experience may have outweighed revolutionary appeal. BNP is headed by Tarique Rahman, 60, who spent 17 years in self-imposed exile before returning to lead the campaign. The party was founded in 1978 by his father and ex-Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman. It was last in power between 2001 and 2006 under Tarique’s mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. “Probably, the BNP looks like the safest pair of hands,” Hossain said. “The party has a track record of governance … presiding over relatively robust growth. Its record on the economy and development was reasonable.” Still, she cautioned that economic challenges loom large. “The manifestos have been a shopping list of nice things to have, but without any kind of costing or sense of how they will be paid for,” Hossain said. Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in the world. Domestic revenue mobilisation is weak and public services are underfunded – structural constraints that will test the new government, she added. REFORM PROMISES AND …