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The National Citizen Party rally at the Central Shaheed Minar has begun two hours later than originally scheduled.
The rally, which centred on a call for a July Proclamation and National Charter, was set to commence at 3pm on Sunday, according to bdnews24.com.
But leaders and activists began arriving in processions around 4:45pm, chanting slogans.
At that point, central party leaders had yet to appear on stage.
The leadership eventually took the stage at 5pm, with labour leader Mazharul Islam Fakir delivering the opening speech.
He was followed by Rabiul Awal, a relative of one of the martyrs of the July movement; Tariqul Islam, convener of Jubo Shakti; and Nizam Uddin, coordinator of the Dhaka Metropolitan South unit.
During the programme, traffic was limited on the roads surrounding the Shaheed Minar, particularly on three sides of the monument.
The NCP, founded by leading figures from the July Uprising, is expected to use the rally as a platform to declare a vision for a post-Uprising Bangladesh.
In a Facebook post ahead of the event, the party said: “The manifesto of a new Bangladesh will be announced at the Central Shaheed Minar on Aug 3. We are meeting you at this juncture in history.”
Earlier, the NCP also indicated that its convener, Nahid Islam, would outline the aspirations, and demands of citizens that had been collected over the course of a month-long march in July, as well as the party’s commitment to shaping Bangladesh’s future.
Nahid is also expected to announce the party’s next steps in pursuit of the July Proclamation and National Charter.
A year earlier, leaders of the Students Against Discrimination stood at the same Shaheed Minar and called for the fall of the government. Many of those leaders now hold senior positions within the NCP.
At the same time, the Chhatra Dal is holding a rally at Shahbagh, not far from the Shaheed Minar.
Their members were seen assembled in large numbers around Shahbagh Chattar, as well as along Dhaka University Road and the adjacent streets.
Chhatra Dal initially planned to hold its rally at the Shaheed Minar. But at the request of the NCP, the student group agreed to relocate.