BNP says May Day rally will be ‘biggest in living memory’

The BNP is hoping to mobilise its supporters in Dhaka on the May Day for what it describes as ‘the biggest rally of all time’.

Mirza Abbas, convener of the party’s Dhaka Metropolitan unit, briefed a joint meeting on Wednesday.

“You can’t think of this as a rally for the workers’ wing. You must treat it like a rally for Khaleda Zia,” he said.

The BNP chief is expected to address the midday rally organised by Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal at Suhrawardy Udyan.

“We will make sure more leaders and party workers attend this than in any of our past rallies, so we can show the government how we were able to hold the biggest rally in memory,” said the senior leader who was recently freed from prison after securing bail.

“A lot of people gather for Khaleda Zia’s rallies. But the times are different. We can no longer hold street processions. Only one party can do that now… what kind of democracy is this?"

The BNP, which sat out the 2014 national election, did not gain much ground despite two campaigns aiming at removing arch-rival Awami League from government, which it says retained state power through an ‘undemocratic election’.

It held its national council on Mar 19, after almost six years, with an eye on mobilising its leaders and activists after massive defeat in the staggered Union Parishad elections.

The May Day rally will be Khaleda's first public address after she spoke at the council meeting held at Dhaka’s Institution of Engineers.

The last rally she addressed was in front of the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters on Jan 5 last year.

The most recent rally she addressed at Suhrawardy Udyan was on Jan 20, 2014, just days after the Awami League returned to power for its second straight term.