Bangladesh Nationalist Party (বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল Bāŋlādeś Jātīyatābādī Dal, BNP) is the most popular political party of Bangladesh. It was founded on September 1, 1978, by former president Ziaur Rahman. The party ruled the country five times. The party's chair is Begum Khaleda Zia, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Currently, it is in power with a two-thirds majority in the national parliament.
In the 2001 elections the BNP and its allies got 47% of the vote, leading to 215 of 300 seats in Parliament.
The BNP promotes a right-of-center social policy, and is often accused by its detractors of being too soft on the right-wing segments of the political establishment. The party has often found itself governing the country during times of great challenge to the state. President Ziaur Rahman, during his tenure, reestablished multi-party democracy in Bangladesh. He also gave the country an independent foreign and defense policy, and moved away from the pro-Indian positions that the previous administration had espoused. The country embarked on market liberalization during the BNP tenure in 1991-96, trying to move away from its state-planned economy to a more capitalist and efficient system. During their latest tenure, they have had to counter concentrated efforts to paint the country as a hotbed of Islamic tradition, and defend Bangladesh's long-cherished tradition as a moderate, Muslim democracy.
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