The event took place at 11 am on Thursday (February 27) at the ground adjacent to the LD Hall of the National Parliament Building. About 4,000 leaders from all over the country participated in it.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will address the meeting as the chief guest through a virtual link. The meeting will be presided over by the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who also inaugurated the meeting.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will deliver the welcome speech at the meeting. The meeting, organized with the theme 'Strong unity can thwart all conspiracies', will discuss party unity and the ongoing political situation.
BNP leaders said the main purpose of the meeting was to call for national unity in the face of the ongoing political unrest and the 13th parliamentary elections. The party is preparing for the upcoming elections with its 31-point reform program in mind.
Twenty minutes before the meeting began, BNP Publicity Secretary Sultan Salahuddin officially announced that Khaleda Zia would join virtually and deliver the keynote address. BNP Joint Secretary General Shahid Uddin Chowdhury also confirmed this information.
District and police station level leaders are being given the opportunity to speak in the extended meeting. Among the central leaders, only Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will speak. Tarique Rahman will deliver the final speech after listening to the opinions of the Trinamool leaders.
There is great excitement among BNP leaders and activists over this extended meeting, which was held after a long time. The 31-point reform program was highlighted through placards in the Parliament building area.
BNP sources said that the meeting is attended by members of the party's national standing committee, the chairperson's advisory council, members of the central executive committee, presidents, general secretaries, conveners and member secretaries of all the city and district police stations, upazilas and municipal committees. Leaders nominated in the 2018 11th parliamentary elections have also been invited.
BNP has formed several special committees to successfully conduct the extended meeting.
– Implementation Committee: This 27-member committee is led by Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
– Management Committee: Shahid Uddin Chowdhury is the head of this 11-member committee.
– Volunteer Committee: Sultan Salahuddin is the convener of this 200-member committee.
In addition, a reception, entertainment, and media committee has also been formed.
BNP sources said that various ongoing issues including party unity, national unity, the country's current political situation, rising commodity prices, and the national elections will be discussed in the extended meeting.
