As the BNP's highly-publicised divisional rally gets underway, the Golapbagh field in Dhaka is packed to the brim with little room to manoeuvre.
The venue was glistening with an array of colours on Saturday as thousands of party leaders and activists swarmed every corner in red, blue, yellow and purple caps. Many were also carrying the national flag.
The event was scheduled to kick off at 11 am. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a member of the party's standing committee, is the chief guest.
Aman Ullah Aman, the convener of the party's Dhaka Metropolitan North unit, will preside over proceedings. Meanwhile, senior leaders, including BNP Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, took their seats on the stage hours before the start of the event.
Two chairs have been kept empty, bearing the photos of Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman, the acting head of the party.
Aman Ullah believes the 'sea of people' is indicative of the growing discontent over the current state of the country. "The wave of people is unstoppable. No matter how much they may have been suppressed, the people are rising up. The image at this rally conveys that message."
BNP loyalists from all across Dhaka and its surrounding parts, including Munshiganj, Manikganj, Gazipur, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Tangail, Jamalpur and Sherpur have gathered at the Golapbagh field.
Leaders and activists from farther away came to the two days before the rally. Many stayed at the venue overnight.
Supporters of the BNP continued to converge on Golapbagh in processions from Kamalapur and Sayedabad. The area was abuzz with various chants and slogans. Leaders and activists carried placards demanding the release of Khaleda Zia, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas from jail. All in all, a festive atmosphere gripped the event.
The rally is being held to protest the increase in the prices of fuel and other daily necessities, the police brutality against BNP leaders and activists as well as the release of Khaleda. The rally in Dhaka caps the BNP's nationwide antigovernment campaign.
Solaiman Bepari, a member of the Sramik Dal from Narayanganj, said, "The government and the police have not been able to thwart our rally despite all the drama that unfolded in the past few days.”
“Our secretary general has been arrested, our central office has been vandalised by police raids, leaders and activists have been arrested. But they couldn't hold us back,” he said.
Solaiman said he and many others faced numerous obstacles to get to the venue from Narayanganj. “Our cars were frequently stopped and searched. We had to constantly account for where we were going, why and so on. Still, we came right to the rally. No one could stop us.”
Abdus Sattar, a Jubo Dal activist from Munshiganj, came to Dhaka two days ago. "I tried to lay low and move to different places as police raided the hotel I was in before going door to door to see who came from outside the city."
"When I came to the Golapbagh field last night, it felt like a gathering of all the oppressed people. Many have been implicated in 20-50 cases each. Numerous cases have been filed around this rally in Dhaka, but they couldn't curtail the turnout.”
Ayesha Khatun, a Mahila Dal activist from Jatrabari, claimed Chhatra League men blocked the streets to prevent people from attending the rally. "I reached the venue in the morning after overcoming many obstacles. I feel happy about it. I feel like I can breathe in the open air.”
Many alleged that the mobile network had been cut off in the vicinity of the venue as leaders and activists failed to connect to the internet on their cell phones despite numerous attempts. They accused the government of deliberately making the network sluggish.
Security has been ramped up for the event as police patrolled different parts of the field. Heavy and armoured vehicles, along with prison vans, have been deployed to the Syedabad bus terminal.