After Jum'a prayers, both the candidates hit the campaign trail together with their party senior leaders just 20 days before the voting.
They visited houses and localities of their respective areas with leaflets and sought votes for them with lofty promises.
After getting the election symbol, the Sheaf of Paddy, from the returning office, BNP’s Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) polls mayoral candidate Ishraque Hossain first offered fateha at the grave of his father and former mayor of undivided Dhaka City Sadeque Hossain Khoka at Jurain Graveyard.
He then offered Jum'a prayers at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
Later, Ishraque, flanked by party senior leaders, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, launched the election campaign.
In a brief address, Ishraque urged the country’s people to pray for him as he has been in the election race as part of a movement to ‘restore democracy' and free Khaleda Zia from jail.
“Cast your votes in favour of the Sheaf of Paddy. We must turn out to be victorious,” he said pointing at the voters.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they initiated a fresh movement for the ‘restoration’ of democracy and the release of Khaleda through opening the election campaign of Ishraque.
He said their movement is also meant for freeing the country’s people from the ‘misrule’ of the current government.
Fakhrul urged the city dwellers to vote for the two BNP candidates in the January-30 city polls in the capital.
Later, Ishraque and BNP leader distributed leaflets among people in Puranapaltan area.
Meanwhile, BNP’s Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) polls mayoral candidate Tabith Awal launched the electioneering after saying Jum'a prayers at a mosque at Uttar Sector No-7.
Tabith along with BNP senior leaders, including Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, M Shahjahan, Zainul Abedin Farroque and his father Abdul Awal Minoo, kicked off the campaign by distributing leaflets among voters in front of the mosque.
In a brief address, Tabith said people are eagerly waiting for exercising their voting rights in the upcoming city polls. “It’s now the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure a transparent and credible voting.”
He said the victory of the Sheaf of Paddy is certain if the election is held in a free and fair manner.
The BNP candidate urged the voters to give the government a befitting reply through ballots against its ‘misrule, vote rigging and failure to check dengue outbreak' that claimed many lives last year.
He said he will take steps to build a modern and liveable city with intergraded plans if he is elected mayor.
At one stage, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam also joined the election campaign of Tabith Awal.
He urged voters to elect Tabith registering their protests against the government’s ‘misrule and misdeed’.
“We’ll restore democracy and free our leader Khaleda Zia through wining the polls. Our victory is for sure,” he added.
As per the election schedule, the candidates will get 17 more days to conduct the election campaign.