Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday paid glowing tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after her party's landslide victory in the 12th parliamentary election.
The 76-year-old leader, ruling the nation since 2009, won a fifth overall term in the one-sided election on Sunday, which witnessed a low turnout. She paid homage by placing a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu inside the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
Mujibur Rahman's younger daughter and the prime minister's younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, later also separately placed a wreath at the portrait. The prime minister's daughter Saima Wazed and Sheikh Rehana's son Radwan Mujib Siddiq were present on the occasion.
After laying the wreath, Sheikh Hasina stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect for the memory of Bangabandhu, who was assassinated on August 15, 1975. Earlier in the morning, the prime minister along with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana and daughter Saima Wazed went to the Banani graveyard and paid tributes to those killed on August 15.
After laying the wreaths, they stood in solemn silence for some time. They also spread flower petals on the graves there. Sheikh Hasina and Rehana also offered Fateha and prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls of August 15, 1975.
Saima Wazed and Radwan Mujib Siddiq were present on the occasion. At the Banani graveyard, Bangamata Begum Fazilatun Nesa Mujib, Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, Sheikh Russel and others of August 15, 1975, were laid to eternal rest.
Ruling Awami League-backed candidates won 222 seats in Sunday's voting, while independent candidates - most of them allied with the Awami League - won 62 seats. Besides, the Jatiya Party won only 11 seats and three single candidates from three parties -- the Workers’ Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Bangladesh Kalyan Party -- secured victory in their respective constituencies.
