Army troops, paramilitary forces and police in thousands were seen patrolling the streets of Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Saturday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeks fourth term.
Bangladesh is going to polls on Sunday and security agencies are keeping extra vigil on religious minorities as between December 16 and 26 three Hindu households were set on fire by miscreants.
Across the country around 600,000 security personnel have been deployed following the recent clashes between opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists and ruling Awami League supporters in which thirteen people were killed.
BNP alleges thousands of its activists and leaders have been arrested to make them weak and lately eight more were detained for circulating provocative videos related to the parliamentary election.
Hasina may return to power for a third consecutive time and 11th time since independence in 1971. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is currently in jail, serving corruption charges, and has been barred from contesting.
Zia is Hasina’s archrival and head of BNP. In 2014 her party boycotted general election demanding a poll-time non-party government. It stayed out of parliamentary process and returned back just lately as part of a new alliance – National Unity Front (NUF).
Zia’s son Tarique Rahman is currently living in London to evade law. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of masterminding a grenade attack in 2004 on rally that killed several Awami League activists and leaders.
Posters and other campaign materials of BNP are barely visible and the party alleges police have created an atmosphere of fear.
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