DHAKA: Bangladesh's election campaign ended Monday ahead of this week's vote, with rival parties invoking the 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.
Tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters attended a succession of rival rallies across the sprawling capital Dhaka, as parties sought to harness the legacy of the mass uprising and pitch competing visions of change for the country of 170 million in Thursday's election.
The Muslim-majority nation will elect a 350-seat parliament, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)—led by Tarique Rahman, who returned in December after 17 years in exile—widely tipped as a frontrunner.
The BNP's key rival is Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist party that is led by Shafiqur Rahman and has allied with the National Citizen Party (NCP) that was formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising.
Prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman appeared confident as he bounced on stage to address a crowd of thousands of BNP loyalists who waved flags and the party symbol, a sheaf of rice, and greeted their leader as if at a rock concert.
"The BNP alone has a plan to run the country and the experience to do so," he said, referring to his late parents, Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, who both led the nation.
"No other parties have that."
Tarique Rahman, 60, better known in Bangladesh as Tarique Zia, assumed leadership of the BNP from his mother, Khaleda Zia, who died in December at the age of 80.
Police ringed the stage as he spoke and watched from the tops of tower blocks, surveying the crowd.
In his closing speech for the campaign, broadcast on state television, he also reached out to the 10 percent of Bangladeshis who are not Muslim -- the majority of which who are Hindus.
"Bangladesh is a land of Muslims, non-Muslims, agnostics, and people from both the plains and the hills," he said.
'Justice'
Hasina was overthrown on August 5, 2024, after 15 years in power, and her Awami League party was banned by the interim government from running in the elections, a move criticized by rights groups.
The 78-year-old, known for her iron-fisted rule, was sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power and remains in hiding in India.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, leading a coalition of Islamist parties ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood—under the symbol of weighing scales—also headed packed rallies.
"If Jamaat comes to power, extortion and violence will reduce," said Ashikuzzaman Shaon, a 21-year-old student. "They'll establish justice."
The Jamaat chief has accused the former ruling party of widespread repression but also warned that new forms of abuse had quickly followed its fall, alleging extortion and corruption by returning political figures.
"We want to build a country of unity with everyone on board," he said Monday, in a speech broadcast on state television. "It will be a country where nobody gets the driving seat because of their family background."
If successful, the former political prisoner could form the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh.
'Long live the revolution'
Jamaat's ally, NCP leader Nahid Islam, has also accused major parties of quietly sharing the "businesses of extortion and crime" for decades.
"If you elect me, I will dedicate myself to the betterment of the area," Islam said, thanking women supporters.
"If we lose, August 5 will also lose," he added, referring to the day Hasina resigned.
Supporters chanted popular slogans from the uprising, including "Long live the revolution!"
"Slavery or freedom?" they chanted, replying in unison, "Freedom, freedom!"
Among the crowds on Monday was Tota Mia, 58, a rickshaw puller who had attended rallies on all sides and took a pragmatic approach.
"I've seen everyone," he said. "And this time I will vote for Jamaat. It doesn't matter if I eat more or I eat less, I just want peace."
