Tarique visits Shahjalal's shrine

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman visited the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet on Wednesday night as part of the formal launch of his party’s election campaign for the 13th national parliamentary elections.

He arrived in Sylhet around 8:04pm after leaving Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:20pm on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BNP Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said. Around 9:30pm, Tarique visited the shrine, offered fateha and prayers, and later performed Isha prayers at the mosque.

He also offered fateha at the shrine of Hazrat Shah Paran (RA). Following the shrine visits, Tarique went to the ancestral home of his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, in Biraimpur village under Silam Union of South Surma upazila.

A milad and doa mahfil were held there in memory of his late mother and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, as well as deceased members of Zubaida Rahman’s family. Special food and ‘shirni’ were distributed among party leaders, activists and local residents. A cake-cutting programme was also arranged.

Tarique Rahman is scheduled to address his first election rally on Thursday morning at the Sylhet Alia Madrasa ground. He will then attend six more rallies across Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi and Narayanganj districts throughout the day.

Earlier, BNP Election Steering Committee spokesperson Dr Mahdi Amin said the campaign would formally begin on Thursday with Sylhet as the starting point, following party tradition. BNP founder Ziaur Rahman began his presidential campaigns from Sylhet, and Khaleda Zia launched all her election campaigns there since 1991.

Party sources said administrations, returning officers and law enforcement agencies in the concerned districts have been informed to ensure smooth conduct of the rallies. Tarique Rahman is expected to return to his Gulshan residence late Thursday night.

Sylhet BNP leaders noted that Tarique last visited the city in 2005, when he attended a BNP union representatives’ conference as senior joint secretary general. After spending 17 years in exile in the UK, he returned to Bangladesh with his family on December 25.