BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman reached in Chattogram on Saturday evening, marking his first visit to the port city in nearly 20 years.

He landed at Shah Amanat International Airport around 7:15 pm and was received by senior party leaders and BNP’s Chattogram metropolitan leadership.

BNP Standing Committee members Salahuddin Ahmed and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, along with other top local leaders, were present at the airport to welcome him.

Rahman’s arrival as party chief after a long gap has generated strong political excitement and high expectations across Chattogram. The city has taken on a festive look, with major roads, intersections and alleys decorated with banners and festoons. Party leaders and activists have shown heightened enthusiasm ahead of the scheduled grand rally.

Preparations at Polo Ground, the venue of Sunday’s mass rally, have been underway for several days.

On Saturday, the field was seen levelled and secured with safety barricades, while Chattogram City Corporation vehicles sprayed water to control dust. BNP leaders and activists continued to arrive at the venue in convoys.

Security has been tightened across the city ahead of the rally, with around 2,000 police personnel deployed. The entire area, including the stage, has been divided into three security zones: Red, Yellow and Green.

The stage has been designated as the Red Zone, accessible only to BNP central leaders, Standing Committee members and parliamentary candidates from 23 constituencies in greater Chattogram. The area in front of the stage has been marked as the Yellow Zone, with separate blocks for journalists and women, while the rest of the field has been declared the Green Zone.

Tarique Rahman last visited Chattogram on May 6, 2005.