Back to his roots, Tarique calls on Noakhali to deliver a ‘sheaf of paddy’ sweep

As dusk settled over Feni on Sunday, BNP chairman Tarique Rahman stepped onto the stage at the Feni Pilot School ground with a greeting that set the tone for the evening – part homecoming, part election battle cry.

“Assalamu Alaikum. How are you all?” he began, before telling the crowd that greater Noakhali was not just another stop on the campaign trail, but his maternal ancestral home. The remark drew cheers from thousands of party leaders, activists and supporters who had gathered to see BNP’s top leader in person after years away.

Fresh from a rally in Chattogram earlier in the day, Tarique described his journey southeast as an emotional one. Chattogram, he said, carried personal memories, while Feni and neighbouring Noakhali and Lakshmipur were bound to him by family ties. That sense of belonging framed his appeal to voters.

Addressing the crowd, Tarique cast the election as a mutual contract. The people of Feni, Noakhali and Lakshmipur, he said, had long-standing expectations from BNP—to solve local problems and bring development. But BNP, too, had a clear demand.

“That demand is to make the sheaf of paddy victorious,” he said, urging voters to ensure the BNP’s win in every seat across the region.

Local development featured prominently in his speech. Responding to repeated calls from party leaders, including Rafiqul Alam Majnu, Tarique promised that a BNP government would establish a medical college in Feni. “Insha’Allah, we will establish a medical college,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.

He also outlined a broader vision for grassroots healthcare, particularly for rural women and children. BNP, he said, planned to deploy healthcare workers in villages across the country—reviving a model reminiscent of the community-level services introduced during the tenure of martyred President Ziaur Rahman. These workers would go door to door to provide basic care, reducing the need for hospital visits for minor ailments.

Tarique arrived at the Feni venue at 5:55pm, offering Maghrib prayers before taking the stage—a gesture that further strengthened his connection with the audience. After the rally, his campaign caravan was set to move on to Chauddagram in Cumilla, followed by meetings in Soagazi and Daudkandi, and later at Balur Math in Narayanganj, underlining the intensity of BNP’s nationwide push.

The Feni rally was presided over by district BNP convener Sheikh Farid Bahar and conducted by member secretary Alal Uddin Alal. BNP candidates from Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur – among them Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, Zainul Abedin Farroque, ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan and Rafiqul Alam Majnu – joined a long list of central leaders who addressed the gathering.

Tarique Rahman formally launched BNP’s election campaign from Sylhet on January 22. The Feni rally marked his second major campaign appearance outside the capital – and, by his own telling, one of the most personal.