The longer the election is delayed, the further behind Bangladesh will fall: Mirza Fakhrul

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged party leaders and activists to reach out to the people in preparation for the upcoming election.

“Get ready for the election. And what does preparation for the election mean? It means creating love and trust among the people. We must ensure that people love the BNP," he said and quoted the people as saying ‘Yes, we have no alternative but the BNP.’

"This is what we have to build. For that, we must be willing to make sacrifices,” Fakhrul stressed.

He made the remarks on Monday afternoon while addressing a doa mahfil and discussion held at the Sunrise Community Centre in Pathantula area of Sylhet.

The event was organised under the management of the district and city BNP and at the initiative of UK chapter BNP president MA Malik.

The gathering was held to pray for the departed soul of the late President Ziaur Rahman and for the recovery of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

A discussion session was also held alongside the doa mahfil.

BNP chairperson’s adviser and UK chapter BNP president MA Malik presided over the doa mahfil and the discussion, where the party’s standing committee member Mirza Abbas was the key speaker.

Two other standing committee members Iqbal Hasan Mahmud (Tuku) and AZM Zahid Hossain were the special speakers at the discussion.

Thanking the chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus, Mirza Fakhrul said, “He talked to our leader Tarique Rahman in London and set mid-February of 2026 as the time for the election.”

“We want to say it clearly, to the government, other political parties, the longer the election is delayed, the further behind Bangladesh will fall,” the BNP secretary general stated.

Maintaining that different types of crises would appear if the election is not held fast, the senior BNP leader further said, “No (foreign) investment will come, no (local) investment will be made; our women and girls will become more unsafe; mobocracy will rise; judicial system will collapse; the law and order system will also collapse. For everything we need an elected government, a government that has popular support and there are people behind that government.”

“No government could be more powerful than an elected government,” he pointed out.

Addressing the party leaders and activists, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Let’s focus so that none could speak ill about us; none could point finger at us and say we have been doing unpleasant things, occupying someone’s land, and engaging in extortion. We have to unite everyone.”

Mentioning that many people sacrificed their lives and shed blood in 2024 and in the previous 15 years for democracy, Mirza Fakhrul said, “Trumped up cases have been filed against thousands of people. Many of our leaders, who are present here, were imprisoned for months; many were beaten severely by the Hasina government, and kept in chained condition. We are here bearing such torture and sufferings.”

The BNP secretary general said Sheikh Hasina fled not for nothing. “We have been freed from fascism because of a long struggle, sacrifices of many people, blood of many persons and tears of many mothers. Now that we are freed from fascism, alright, what would we do now? We have already said, our struggle is for democracy. That means, we want to establish Bangladesh as a democratic country, where everyone’s rights will be fulfilled. People would be able to cast their votes, would be able to speak, where there will be freedom of speech.”

Mirza Fakhrul asked, will Bangladesh remain a poor country forever? “We want to see a Bangladesh that was dreamt by martyred president Ziaur Rahman… We want to see a Bangladesh for which our leader Khaleda Zia visited villages and motivated people there.”

Among others who spoke at the event were BNP chairperson’s adviser Habibur Rahman (Habib), Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Tahsina Rushdir (Luna), Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, BNP central organising secretary GK Gaus, assistant organising secretary Miftah Siddiqui, Dhaka district BNP general secretary Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Sylhet district BNP president Abdul Qayum Chowdhury, and acting president of Sylhet city BNP Rezaul Hasan Kayes Lodi.