Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman Mocked With “Engineer” Memes Amid Election Rigging Claims

Bangladesh’s new PM Tarique Rahman is being sarcastically called “engineer” online after his BNP’s landslide win. The label, pushed by rivals and social media users, refers to allegations that he “engineered” the election results.

Bangladesh’s newly appointed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has become the subject of widespread online mockery, as social media users and political rivals alike tag him with the ironic label “engineer” following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) decisive victory in the February 12 general election. The term, which has gone viral across platforms in the form of memes and AI-generated imagery, is not a reference to Rahman’s academic credentials but a sarcastic jab tied to serious allegations of election manipulation.

Rahman, whose highest declared qualification is a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), returned to Bangladesh in recent months after 17 years in self-imposed exile and was sworn in as Prime Minister after the BNP secured 209 out of 297 parliamentary seats. His rapid political ascent and long absence have fuelled both support and criticism, with detractors from the National Citizens Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami alliance accusing him of “engineering” the election results in the party’s favour. These accusations have translated into political satire online, with users posting doctored images of Rahman in construction hard hats and mock-congratulatory posts celebrating his supposed “success” in “National Election Engineering.”

The social media barrage contrasts sharply with the gravity of the surrounding political discourse. NCP and Jamaat leaders have alleged large-scale rigging and result tampering designed to undermine opposition candidates, claims that Rahman has firmly rejected. At a post-election press conference, he responded to “engineering” accusations by saying the only strategy used was winning over the electorate, stressing his party’s commitment to democratic support rather than manipulation.

While the satirical use of the “engineer” moniker continues to circulate online, the broader debate reflects deep political polarization in Bangladesh’s post-election landscape. Opponents see the mockery as a tool to draw attention to alleged problems with the electoral process, while supporters and observers interpret it as political theatre — one that underscores the intensity of rivalries in the country’s shifting political dynamic.