The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) steps on 41 years of journey on Saturday (Sep 1).
The party would observe the founding anniversary this year amid a tough time with its Chairperson Khaleda Zia behind the bars.
Besides, the party's top leader and Khaleda’s eldest son Tareque Rahman is also outside of the country.
Under the circumstances, BNP has been demanding release of their party chief and calling on the government to ensure free, fair, credible and inclusive national polls under a neutral government.
In separate messages, Acting Chairperson Tareque Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed their gratitude to the people and party's stakeholders.
BNP is scheduled to hold a public meeting at Nayapaltan in front of its central office in Dhaka marking the 40th founding anniversary.
Another discussion event will be arranged on Sunday at capital's Engineers' Institution auditorium as part of the celebration, party sources said.
Mirza Fahrul said in his message that Khaleda Zia was jailed in a fabricated case while the party’s acting chairman was sentenced on ‘conspiratorial false’ charges.
"We have to stand against the vindictive oppression and free Begum Zia," Fakhrul also said in the message.
According to the BNP official website, late president Ziaur Rahman, a sector commander in the Liberation War, launched the party on Sep 1, 1978 with a slogan of politics of development and production.
Ziaur Rahman was elected the president of Bangladesh on 3 Jun 1978.
When he was brutally assassinated in a coup attempt on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong, the succeeding chairman of BNP Justice Abdus Sattar was elected President of Bangladesh on Nov 15 1981, the website says.
Ziaur Rahman's wife Khaleda Zia held the helm of BNP after his assassination.
She was elected BNP vice-chairperson in 1983 and chairperson in 1984, according to BNP website.
Khaleda became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh in 1991.