DHAKA, Bangladesh, April 28 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi students have rallied in the capital, Dhaka, under tight security to support the nation's ruling party.
Thursday's rally was organized by the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Bangladesh has experienced many rallies in recent weeks, including supporters of both the BNP and the opposition Awami League, the Indian Deccan Herald reported.
The Jamaat students were making an effort to show their strength following similar gatherings of opposition student supporters. Witnesses said more than 50,000 students attended Thursday's rally, one of the biggest in the city in recent months.
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and her opponent Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League, will face each other in the next parliamentary election in January.
The two women have dominated politics in the mainly Muslim Bangladesh for the past 15 years.
