Just hours before the announcement of the election schedule, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday called on party leaders and activists to get ready to welcome their acting chairman Tarique Rahman, saying he will return to the country "very soon".
“Since all our leaders are here today, I want to tell you that our leader (Tarique) will come back to us very soon,” he said while speaking at the opening session of the fifth day of BNP’s ‘Plan to Build the Country’ workshop.
The BNP leader called on his colleagues to be ready to give Tarique a grand reception on the day he returns home, ending his 17 years of exile in London.
“The day our leader arrives and sets foot in Bangladesh, the whole country should shake. You must remember this… You will be able to do it, InshaAllah. On that day, we want to change the face of the entire country,” he said.
Fakhrul said the party wants to move forward with a progressive vision to take Bangladesh ahead. “We want to move ahead. We want progress. To place Bangladesh in a position of dignity, we want to carry forward our leader’s thoughts and plans.”
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin is scheduled to address the nation in the evening to announce the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election.
Fakhrul said the election schedule will be announced today, opening the way for the people to establish new leadership for Bangladesh through a fresh election.
“We now have the chance to work with the people to form a truly representative parliament — a parliament that will lead Bangladesh towards a new horizon, under the leadership of our leader Tarique Rahman,” he said.
He said the BNP must win the upcoming election and secure a full victory so it can take Bangladesh forward.
“Many barriers will come. Many difficulties will appear. There are many campaigns against us, and there will be more. But we want to stand tall by overcoming all of these. BNP has never been defeated, and it will not be defeated,” he added.
Describing BNP as the party of the people, the Liberation War and the struggle for democracy, Fakhrul urged leaders to stay united.
“Nothing else will bring you success. What will bring success is unity — a strong, steel-like unity — and the spirit to move forward with our nationalist and democratic ideals,” he said.
The party earlier announced the six-day workshop on 27 November involving Chhatra Dal, Krishak Dal, Ulema Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal and other front organisations to prepare them for campaigning before the polls.
Fakhrul inaugurated the fifth day’s programme at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in Dhaka’s Farmgate, with BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in the chair.
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is expected to address the concluding session virtually in the afternoon.
Leaders and activists of BNP joined the programme to receive training on different issues so they can reach out to people and explain BNP’s plans, election manifesto and promises before the polls.
