Tarique to kick off BNP's poll campaign from Sylhet on Jan 22

BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman will formally launch his party's election campaign for the 13th national parliamentary election from Sylhet on January 22, reports UNB.

"Tarique Rahman will go to Sylhet on January 22. However, the detailed tour plan is yet to be finalised," his Press Secretary Saleh Shibly told the news agency.

Traditionally, Shibly said, the BNP begins its national election campaign from Sylhet by offering fateha at the shrines of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) and Hazrat Shah Paran (R).

"During the visit, he will offer fateha at both shrines. It has not yet been decided where the campaign will formally begin, but I believe it will start in Sylhet after visiting the two shrines," he said.

He also said the detailed programme of Tarique Rahman's visit and election campaign will be finalised soon.

On Saturday, while exchanging greetings with editors and senior journalists at a hotel in Dhaka, Tarique said his party will go to people with its plans from January 22. According to the election schedule, symbols will be allocated to candidates on January 21, while formal electioneering will begin on January 22.

Earlier, following an emergency meeting of the party's Standing Committee on Friday night, the BNP announced the postponement of Tarique Rahman's planned tour of the northern districts.

After the meeting, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Tarique's scheduled four-day tour of the northern region had been postponed following a request from the Election Commission (EC).

The BNP Chairman planned to begin his tour of the northern districts on Sunday to pay tributes to national leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani and Abu Sayed, a martyr of the 2024 student-led mass uprising.