BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman arrived at the Election Commission’s National Identity Wing in the city’s Agargaon area on Saturday to complete his National Identity Card (NID) registration and enlist himself as a voter.
He reached the National Identity Wing office, located at the Electoral Training Institute, at 1pm.
As part of the registration process, Tarique Rahman will provide biometric data and submit the required documents.
Earlier, his wife Zubaida Rahman and their daughter Zaima Rahman arrived at the same office at around 12:26pm.
After completing the necessary formalities, they left the office at around 12:45pm, before Tarique’s arrival.
According to BNP sources, Tarique, Zubaida and Zaima have already completed the online voter registration form. They are supposed to be registered as voters in the Dhaka-17 constituency under DNCC Ward No. 19 in the Gulshan area, using the address of House No. 196, Gulshan-2.
Earlier in the day, Tarique offered fateha at the grave of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, who died a week after being shot on December 12.
Accompanied by senior BNP leaders, Tarique first placed a wreath at Hadi’s grave at around 11:30 am, paying tribute to the July uprising activist. He later offered fateha and joined a munajat, seeking the salvation of Hadi’s departed soul. The munajat was conducted by Abu Bakar Siddique, the elder brother of Sharif Osman Hadi.
Tarique and his party colleagues also placed a wreath at the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, near the Dhaka University Central Mosque. They also joined a munajat there as well.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan, among others, were present.
Members of the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed across the Shahbagh and Dhaka University areas to maintain security.
Tarique left his Gulshan Avenue residence at around 10:40 am in a white bulletproof SUV and reached the Dhaka University campus at around 11:15 am under tight security.
From the Election Commission, he is scheduled to visit Mahbub Bhaban in Dhanmondi, the residence of his father-in-law. He will then go to Evercare Hospital to visit his ailing mother.
Tarique was earlier scheduled to visit the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), popularly known as Pangu Hospital, to meet those injured during the July 2024 mass uprising. However, the programme has been cancelled.
In a Facebook post on Saturday morning, BNP’s Media Cell said Tarique would not visit Pangu Hospital as there are no injured victims of the July mass uprising.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of Inquilab Moncho and a prospective candidate for Dhaka-8, was shot in the head on December 12 while travelling in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in Puratan Paltan. The incident occurred a day after the Election Commission announced February 12 as the date for the next national election.
For advanced treatment, Hadi was airlifted to Singapore, where he died from his injuries on the night of December 18. He was laid to rest beside the grave of Kazi Nazrul Islam on December 20.
Aged 32, Hadi was a prominent figure in the July 2024 uprising and served as the spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho.
Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on Thursday morning after nearly 17 years abroad. His return has drawn widespread attention and strong emotions among BNP leaders, activists and supporters across the country.
He was greeted with a large and jubilant reception, with party leaders describing his homecoming as historic.
