Leaders and activists of the BNP have begun gathering in front of the party's Nayapaltan headquarters in Dhaka to mark the second anniversary of the January 5, 2014 national elections which the party dubs Democracy Killing Day.
The ruling Awami League will stage its observance of the anniversary, christened Democracy Protection Day, in front of its headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital’s Gulistan area.
Since morning on Tuesday, BNP supporters and members marched peacefully towards the venue from different parts of the capital.
There have not been any reports of untoward incidents anywhere in the country.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is expected to address the programme, which will be her first public rally in over a year. This will also be her first public rally in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office in four years.
The BNP chief held her last public rally in Narayanganj's Kanchpur on December 13, 2014.
Ahead of the rally, Khaleda Zia last night held a meeting with her party’s senior leaders and discussed the topics of her speech.
On Monday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police granted conditional permission to the BNP to hold the rally.
On Saturday, both the Awami League and the BNP had sought permission to hold rallies on Tuesday at the same venue – historic Suhrawardy Udyan – to mark the second anniversary of the January 5, 2014 national elections, which the BNP had boycotted.
Despite approving both parties' requests, the DMP set several conditions for the rival parties and warned that stern action would be taken if the conditions were violated.
The police, cautious because chaos followed the observance of this day last year, took several days to consider the security situation before finally making a decision.
The Dhaka South City Corporation also granted both parties conditional permission to stage programmes between 3pm and 5pm on Tuesday.