BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to visit Barishal and Faridpur on Wednesday as part of his campaign for the 13th parliamentary election, marking his first trip to the southern division in more than two decades.

Tarique will leave Dhaka by helicopter at around 11am and is scheduled to join a public rally in Barishal at noon. Local BNP leaders and activists have taken extensive preparations centring the rally.

Party leaders and supporters from Barishal and neighbouring districts have already started arriving at the venue, travelling by launches, speedboats and other means to attend the rally.

At the rally, the BNP chief is expected to introduce the party’s candidates for all 21 parliamentary constituencies in the Barishal division and seek votes in favour of the party’s electoral symbol, the sheaf of paddy.

He is also likely to outline his vision for building the country in the coming days and share his thoughts on pressing local issues.

Grassroots leaders and activists say Tarique’s Barishal visit after more than 20 years has significantly boosted morale at the field level. They expect the rally to accelerate election campaigning and reassure general voters about BNP-nominated candidates.

After concluding his Barishal programme, Tarique will travel to Faridpur, where he is scheduled to address an election rally at Rajendra College ground at 2pm.

Notably, Tarique formally kicked off his election campaign on January 22 from Alia Madrasa ground in Sylhet. On that day, he addressed rallies in Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi and Narayanganj.

He later visited Chattogram on January 25, from where he addressed election rallies in Feni, Chauddagram, Suagazi, Daudkandi and Narayanganj before returning to Dhaka.

Tarique also took part in three election rallies between Mymensingh and Dhaka in the following days.