Thousands of BNP activists and supporters have arrived in Faridpur from nearby districts ahead of the party's divisional rally slated for tomorrow.
They have erected tents at the Abdul Aziz Institute ground, the venue for the rally, and were seen cooking large amounts of food on Thursday as they plan to spend the night here. The organizers have already set up a temporary stage at the venue and decorated the surrounding areas with banners and festoons.
On the other hand, the district unit Awami League will hold a rally at the Sheikh Russel Square on Friday to protest arson, vandalism, anarchy and instability created across the country by the BNP in the past.
Senior ruling party leaders said that they would hold the program peacefully but were also ready to prevent any chaos or anarchy created by the BNP men.
The BNP leaders said that they were arriving in the city days ahead so that the festive mood was not dampened by a 36-hour transport strike called by the Faridpur minibus owners.
The transport owners enforced the strike this morning, seeking a ban on the movement of locally-made three-wheelers on highways. The strike will end at 6pm tomorrow.
BNP Vice Chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, who is also the chief coordinator of the rally organizing committee, hoped that over 100,000 party supporters would gather at the ground.
On the other hand, the BNP has not invited its political allies, including the Jamaat-e-Islam, to its divisional rally even though the party said it was planning to launch a mass uprising across the country through its latest movement.
Maulana Badruddin, the district Jamaat ameer, said: “Since this is not a combined program, the issue of our invitation is not important here.”
