An emotional atmosphere marked the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) first election rally in Sylhet, held on Thursday at the Sylhet Government Alia Madrasa ground, as party members carried banners and festoons bearing images of missing leader M Ilias Ali. Participants from across the Sylhet division joined processions chanting slogans demanding justice for his disappearance and his return. According to party sources, BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman was scheduled to address the gathering.

Outside the venue, attention centered on the Sylhet-2 constituency (Bishwanath–Osmaninagar), where Ilias Ali’s wife, Tahsina Rushdir Luna, is contesting the election under the BNP’s “sheaf of paddy” symbol. Supporters displayed posters and banners endorsing her candidacy. Several BNP activists described Ilias Ali as a national leader whose popularity had unsettled the ruling government.

Ilias Ali, a former MP and BNP’s then central organizing secretary, went missing with his driver from Dhaka’s Banani area on April 17, 2012. BNP leaders allege that the then Awami League government was responsible. Thirteen years later, his name continues to resonate in Sylhet’s political movements and election campaigns.