Hours after landing in Dhaka for the first time in 17 years, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman drew attention at a mass reception in Purbachal by declining the large, designated VIP chair on stage and asking for a simple plastic chair instead.
Rahman mounted the rally stage at about 3:50 p.m., waved to supporters, and exchanged greetings with senior leaders from the BNP and allied parties. As BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir began his remarks and dignitaries took their assigned seats, Rahman remained standing briefly before requesting a plastic chair and sitting there with a smile, continuing to acknowledge the crowd.
Earlier, his aircraft (BG-202) touched down at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:39 a.m., and his motorcade departed for the reception venue at 12:41 p.m. On stage, Rahman was flanked by BNP standing committee members: Mirza Abbas to his left and Mirza Fakhrul to his right, with Nazrul Islam Khan seated next to Mirza Fakhrul and Salahuddin Ahmed further along; Gayeshwar Chandra Roy sat beside Mirza Abbas.
The gesture—eschewing the larger appointed chair for a plastic one—became a talking point among supporters as the event marked Rahman’s formal return to public life in Bangladesh.