Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and opposition chief whip, warned on Saturday that the 11-party alliance’s long march from Dhaka to Chattogram would become a one-point demand if the government attempted to block it.

“We will hold the long march peacefully. If the government tries to obstruct it, the six-point [agenda] of this long march will become a one-point [demand],” he told a rally at Shapla Chattar before the march set off.

Islam described the march as a continuation of the Long March to Dhaka that brought down the previous Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, 2024, when people from across the country converged on the capital. “Now we have begun a long march from Dhaka to Chattogram and other divisions to block the path of those who are trying to become new autocrats,” he said.

The march, he said, was directed against extortion, terrorism and drugs, against syndicates raising oil, gas and electricity prices, and against those who had betrayed the mandate of 70 percent of the people. He urged people to join in large numbers, saying the march belonged not to 11 parties but to the common people of Bangladesh.

The 11-party alliance is demanding implementation of the referendum verdict, trial of the July killings, resolution of electricity, oil, gas and fertiliser shortages, an end to extortion and corruption, improvement of law and order, and an end to narrow partisan politics.

Roadside rallies are planned along the route to Chattogram. The first is at the Kanchpur Bridge truck stand in Narayanganj, followed by Paduar Bazar Bishwa Road in Cumilla, Mohipal in Feni and Mirsharai, before a final public meeting at Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram.