The party goes for the public gathering at a time when it is faced with immense pressure from the opposition parties for its handling of the militancy.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, also the chairperson of BNP, is expected to address the grand rally. It will be her first address at Paltan Maidan in two years.

The party has set up eight reception centres at Sadarghat, Shampur, Jatrabari, Kamalapur Station, Mohakhali, Mirpur and Gabtoli Bus Terminals, Uttara and Noyabazar to greet BNP leaders and activists coming from across the country.

Two car parks have been arranged in Kamalapur Biswa Road area and Suhrawardy Udyan while four community centres have been rented for the participants from outside the capital. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Wasa will provide drinking water and toilet facilities for the rally-goers.

BNP Secretary-General and LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and DCC Mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka yesterday visited the meeting venue.

The government has taken tight security measures for the rally. Alongside several hundred plainclothes policemen, members of Special Security Force (SSF), Armed Police Battalion, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will stand guard in and around the venue since the morning.

The AL-led 14-party opposition alliance held a grand rally in the capital on November 22.