BNP Launches New Program Ahead of Tarique Rahman's Return

BNP's Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, is scheduled to return to the country on December 25, ending 17 years of self-imposed exile.

The party has announced a new program to mark his homecoming, named: "Bangladesh in My Thoughts: National Reel Making Competition."

The program was announced on Tuesday (December 16) afternoon at a press conference held at the BNP’s new office in Gulshan by Mahadi Amin, an advisor to the party's acting chairman.

• Duration: The reel-making competition will run from December 16 to December 25.
• Participation: Anyone can participate by creating a reel with a duration of one minute.
• Themes: Participants must create a reel on any one of the 11 designated themes.
• Prize: The top 10 participants will get an opportunity for a private discussion with Tarique Rahman at a special event.

Mahadi Amin stated that a leaflet has been published for the program, outlining six steps for participation:

1. Step 1 & 2: Choose one of the 11 designated themes and create a reel within one minute.
2. Step 3 & 4: Decide which social media platform (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok) to use and post the reel on their respective accounts.
3. Step 5: The caption of the reel must include the hashtag "Bangladesh First."
4. Step 6 (Final): The link to the reel must be posted on the "Bangladesh in My Thoughts" event on the official BNP Facebook page.

The type of reel can be any video content, including a solo speech, satire, song, dialogue, or acting. The evaluation will be based 30% on public opinion and the remaining 70% by a jury board.

Designated Themes

The themes for the competition are:

• Family Card
• Farmer Card
• Health
• Employment
• Education
• Environment
• The Kind of Country I Want
• Sports
• Respect for Imams and Muazzins
• Expatriates
• Corruption-Free Bangladesh
• Clarification on New Office

When asked if the new office was specifically for the acting chairman, Mahadi Amin clarified: "This is a BNP office. It would not be right to call it the acting chairman's office." He added that details would be provided later as needed. He also confirmed that the party's future electoral activities will be managed from this office.

Also present at the press conference were:

• Ismail Zabiullah (Advisor to the BNP Chairperson and former Secretary)
• Dr. Ziauddin Haider
• Saymun Parvez (Member of the BNP Foreign Affairs Committee)
• Shairul Kabir Khan (Member of the Media Cell)