At least seven people were killed and several others injured today after a bomb exploded at an election rally at southwestern Mollarhat, witnesses said.
The witnesses said a bomb went off while Sheikh Helaluddin, a candidate for the October 1st parliamentary poll, was addressing a meeting. Helaluddin escaped unhurt.
Helaluddin, of the Awami League party of immediate-past prime minister Sheikh Hasina, is seeking a seat in the 300-member parliament.
Police said they could not comment because they had not yet received a report on the incident.
Bangladesh's caretaker government, headed by former chief justice Latifur Rahman, has ordered the deployment of 55,000 army troops to assist police and paramilitary soldiers to ensure a peaceful election.
The Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, headed by former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia respectively, are the main contenders in the poll, which is being supervised by a non-party interim authority as required by the country's constitution.
Hasina, who ended her five-year rule on July 15, was the first in Bangladesh's history to serve a full term.
More than 250 people have died in clashes between supporters of the two women leaders over the last two months, and authorities have said thousands of illegal weapons are still in the hands of rival political cadres.