BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Wednesday that the people of Bangladesh are waiting for the party to return to power as the country enters the election season.
Speaking as the chief guest at a pre-procession rally for the Victory March in Chattogram, he called on party workers to mobilize in their local areas and connect with voters. The rally was held at New Market to mark the first anniversary of the July mass uprising and was organized by the party’s Chattogram metropolitan, north, and south district units as part of BNP’s central program.
“We have now entered the road to elections,” he told the crowd. “The people of the country are waiting for BNP to come into power. We must take an oath. Everyone must go to their areas, go door to door to the people. The programs and the framework BNP has prepared to restore all political, constitutional, and democratic rights must reach them.”
He pointed to the huge turnout as proof that the party’s support is still strong, arguing the real power of the BNP comes directly from the people.
He basically saw the crowd as a sea of true believers. They were die-hard nationalists, he said, loyal to the Zias like ‘soldiers’. And what was their ultimate goal? To create a whole new Bangladesh, with Tarique Rahman in charge.
Amir Khasru also criticized groups he said were trying to sideline the public from national decision-making. “Once again, certain forces have emerged to snatch away the rights of the people and run the country in their own way, keeping the people outside,” he said. “The people of Bangladesh will never accept this.”
The rally was presided over by Nazimur Rahman, member secretary of the city BNP, and conducted by Helal Uddin, member secretary of the South District BNP, along with Shawkat Azam Khaja, joint convener of the city BNP.
Other speakers included Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain, central BNP organizing secretary Mahbuber Rahman, assistant organizing secretary Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin, labor secretary AM Nazim Uddin, former city BNP general secretary Abul Hashem, and central committee member Hummam Quader Chowdhury.
The event is part of BNP’s push to energize its base as Bangladesh prepares for the next parliamentary election.
