Mirza Fakhrul repeatedly breaks down in tears during his farewell speech

Former BNP secretary general and the party’s presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir broke down in tears several times while delivering his farewell speech at a meeting of the BNP parliamentary party today, Wednesday.

Seeking prayers from party leaders and Members of Parliament, Fakhrul also urged BNP’s Members of Parliament to vote for him in Thursday’s presidential election.

During the meeting, BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also asked the party's Members of Parliament to vote in favour of Mirza Fakhrul.

At the same time, multiple sources present at the meeting informed Prothom Alo that he warned them to maintain party unity ahead of the upcoming local government elections and to avoid creating a distance between MPs and the grassroots.

The Prime Minister made this call on Wednesday at the ruling party meeting room in the National Parliament Building during the BNP parliamentary party meeting. Chaired by him, the meeting ran from 2:00 PM for about an hour and a half.

Relevant sources stated that Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni delivered the welcome speech at the meeting.

He gave the MPs a detailed idea about the voting procedure for the presidential election and asked for votes in favour of Mirza Fakhrul Islam.

He informed the MPs that the presidential election will be held tomorrow, Thursday, and that Mirza Fakhrul Islam himself will cast a vote. Upon being elected president and assuming office, his Thakurgaon-3 parliamentary seat will fall vacant.

Multiple MPs present at the meeting stated that following the Chief Whip, BNP's immediate past secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stood up to speak.

Right at the beginning of his speech, he became emotional and broke down in tears.

He remembered the late BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and expressed gratitude to her. He remembered the founder of BNP and former president Ziaur Rahman with reverence. He also expressed gratitude to party chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Mentioning his long tenure of responsibilities as senior joint secretary general, acting secretary general and secretary general after joining the BNP, Mirza Fakhrul said that if he made any mistakes while discharging his duties or unknowingly hurt anyone's feelings, he is apologetic.

He stated that the honour and responsibility the party has given him—he will protect that honour even if it costs his life, and he will not compromise on the question of the country's independence and sovereignty.

Mentioning that he will miss his colleagues after moving to Bangabhaban, Mirza Fakhrul sought everyone's prayers. At the same time, he called upon the party's MPs to vote for him in the presidential election.

Multiple MPs participating in the meeting stated that Mirza Fakhrul cried four to five times during his brief speech of a few minutes. This created an emotional atmosphere in the meeting and the Prime Minister also became emotional.

If elected president tomorrow, Mirza Fakhrul Islam will no longer be seen at the BNP parliamentary party meetings. He delivered his final speech with a voice choked with tears.

Later, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman delivered his speech. He said, "Today is a historic day. We have reached this position today at a heavy price." For this, he expressed gratitude to Allah.

Tarique Rahman said that if the democratic march in the country continues, accountability will be established everywhere in the state. Accountability is essential in governing the state and everyone must keep this in mind.

Highlighting the long political role of party presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam, the Prime Minister said that he has been associated with the party for many years. During the bad times of the party, he steered the party with immense courage, never gave up and was even imprisoned. Unfortunately, he (Tarique Rahman) had to stay abroad during that time.

The Prime Minister called upon the party's MPs to vote to elect Mirza Fakhrul Islam as president. Calling Thursday's presidential election important, he said that everyone must remain united and disciplined. There is no alternative to this.

In particular, he emphasised the importance of maintaining organisational unity.

The Prime Minister also warned the MPs regarding the upcoming local government elections. He said that a distance is being created in the areas between many MPs and the party. Caution must be exercised in this regard and this distance must not be allowed to be created under any circumstances.

Tarique Rahman stated that this upcoming local government election will be held without party symbols. Consequently, this election is challenging. In the last parliamentary election, the party was harmed because many ran candidates against the party nominees.

To ensure that no one goes against the party-supported candidate in this local government election, work must start right now.

Emphasising the nomination of acceptable individuals at the local level, the Prime Minister said that qualified and acceptable individuals must be nominated and made to win.

With Mirza Fakhrul Islam's emotional farewell to the party ahead of the presidential election and the Prime Minister's stern organisational message regarding the local government elections, the BNP parliamentary party meeting emphasised the matters of party unity and discipline.

Among those participating in the meeting were BNP Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmood, Selima Rahman, AZM Zahid Hossain and other party MPs.