& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

BNP steals the show with first mass rally since 1/11

RASHIDUL HASAN from Chittagong
With a contagions festivity the motorcade of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia started towards the port city of Chittagong from the capital around 7:15am.
Escorted by Special Security • Forces (SSF) and other law enforc- • ing agencies the motorcade of the : former premier included about a : hundred vehicles carrying ■ euphoric party supporters, leaders. : and activists.
Blocking traffic, swarms of : supporters were waiting at different points on Dhaka-Chittagong ; Highway to welcome the BNP : chief. Her security personnel were ■
SEE PAGE 15 COL 1 ;
seen struggling to manage the welcomers.
The massive gathering of people on the road to Chittagong was a part of the party's strategy to exhibit its popularity and glazing the image of its chief, who had been arrested by the military backed caretaker government on September 3, 2007. implicated in several graft cases, and was released on bail on September 11 this year.
Additional law enforces deployed at some points of the highway including at Jatrabari and Padua Bazar had to struggle to control the crowd desperately trying to have a glimpse of one of the two most prominent political leaders of the country.
Dhaka City Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. ASM Hannan Shah, Selima Rahman, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and other senior BNP leaders accompanied Khaleda.
Some other party leaders seeking nominations for the December 18 parliamentary election joined the motorcade with their supporters at different junctions.
Donning colourful headbands and holding equally colourful banners, festoon and placards supporters of the BNP chief tailed her from Dhaka to Chittagong blaring horns while hundreds others lined both sides of the highway at different points.
Traffic on some local roads connected to the highway clogged when the motorcade reached the areas
A grand reception was accorded to the BNP chairperson at the port city by thousands of party leaders, activists and supporters.
A sea of people, gathered on Laidighi Maidan for the anticipated appearance of Khaleda Zia in the rally, broke out into a thunderous applause, singing and chanting slogans when their leader in her usual outfit of a sari and sunglasses got on the stage around 4:00pm.
Flanked by her senior party colleagues, Khaleda waved to the crowd who gathered there from all over Chittagong Division.
Traffic in the entire area around the rally venue came to a stand still, as the. ralliers spilled over on to the streets from the vast field.
Several groups of honking motorcyclists had been disrupting traffic on the city streets since morning as it turned into a city of processions and slogans.
On the occasion of the BNP chief's arrival in Chittagong yesterday, the sufferings of commuters however knew no bound as traffic jams clogged all city arteries including the at Anderkilla, KC Dey Road, Jail Road, Boxir Hat, Terry Bazar, Court Building, Kotwali Intersection, New Market, Patharghata, Momin Road, Loyal Road and Sirajuddowla Road.
On Fridays, Chittagong is usually very quiet as most of its residents are usually busy attending family events on the weekly holiday.
But yesterday, the scenario was very different, as along with party supporters people from all walks of life thronged I^ldighi Maidan in their thousands to witness the first major political showdown ahead of the parliamentary election by one of the two major political parties after a break of almost two years since the declaration of the state of emergency in January last year.
Grassroots level leaders, activists and supporters of BNP poured into the main venue with processions from every nook and cranny of the city, and from the rural areas.
They came on charter buses, trucks, human haulers, and minivans carrying banners, festoons, and placards while beatingon drums non-stop.
The outburst of emotion among the supporters of BNP and its chief made one feel as if they had been holding their breath for such a day since the events of 1/11.