Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to formally launch his party’s election campaign for the 13th national parliamentary election from Sylhet on January 22, party officials have confirmed.
The visit will mark the beginning of the BNP’s nationwide electioneering, which is scheduled to start the same day following the allocation of electoral symbols by the Election Commission on January 21.
“Tarique Rahman will go to Sylhet on January 22. The detailed itinerary is yet to be finalised,” his Press Secretary Saleh Shibly said.
Symbolic start in Sylhet
According to party tradition, the BNP typically begins its election campaigns in Sylhet, a region the party considers symbolically significant. During the visit, Tarique Rahman is expected to offer fateha at the shrines of Hazrat Shah Jalal and Hazrat Shah Paran, two revered spiritual figures in the region.
“During the visit, he will offer fateha at both shrines,” Saleh Shibly said. “The exact venue for the formal campaign launch has not yet been finalised, but it is expected to begin in Sylhet following the shrine visits.”
Party leaders said details of the programme, including public meetings and campaign events, would be announced in the coming days.
Campaign to begin nationwide outreach
On Saturday, while exchanging greetings with editors and senior journalists at a hotel in Dhaka, Tarique Rahman said the BNP would begin taking its political message directly to voters from January 22.
Party officials say the campaign will focus on presenting the BNP’s political agenda and electoral promises to the public ahead of polling day.
According to the election schedule, formal campaigning is permitted from January 22, immediately after candidates receive their electoral symbols.
Northern region tour postponed
The announcement comes days after the BNP postponed Tarique Rahman’s planned tour of the northern districts following a request from the Election Commission.
After an emergency meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Friday night, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the decision had been taken in response to concerns raised by the EC.
“Tarique Rahman’s scheduled four-day tour of the northern region has been postponed following a request from the Election Commission,” he said.
The tour, which was due to begin on January 11, included visits to several districts to pay tribute to prominent historical figures. Tarique Rahman was expected to offer homage to Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, a leading figure in Bangladesh’s political history, and Abu Sayed, a martyr of the 2024 student-led mass uprising.
He was also scheduled to visit Dinajpur to offer fateha at the grave of his maternal grandmother.
Nationwide tour planned
Party sources said Tarique Rahman, who formally assumed the position of BNP chairman on Friday night, plans to visit all administrative divisions during the official campaign period.
The nationwide tour is expected to run from the morning of January 22 until February 10, during which he will seek votes for BNP candidates and those of its alliance partners.
The BNP says the campaign will emphasise voter engagement and coordination with allied parties, as the opposition prepares for what it describes as a crucial national election.
As campaigning officially begins, political analysts say the coming weeks are likely to see intensified activity across the country, with major parties seeking to mobilise support and shape public opinion ahead of polling day.
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