Dhaka- Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed visited a key religious shrine Thursday to formally begin her electioneering for the December 29 polls that will return the country to democratic rule, ending two years of military-backed emergency rule.

Wajed, who drove to the shrine of Shah Jalal in Sylhet, 250 kilometres north-east of Dhaka, stayed a few minutes at the holy place to offer prayers for the welfare of the nation.

She is expected to announce her Awami League party's pledges for the December 29 polls outlining the party's vision in the period leading up to Bangladesh's golden jubilee celebration in 2021.

Hasina's arch political rival, Khaleda Zia, the chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is scheduled to visit the shrine Friday, said Nazrul Islam Khan, the joint general secretary of the party.

Zia, also a former prime minister, will launch her election manifesto at a press conference on Saturday, he added.

Legends are there that whoever wins the electoral race in Sylhet-1 constituency, usually his party forms the government in Bangladesh.

Top leaders of major political parties visit the shrine of Shah Jalal, one of the 13th century saints famous for preaching Islam in Bengal, to seek blessings for the nation before they formally launch their electioneering.

The politicians want electoral mileage exploiting religious sentiment of the electors, mainly the Muslims who accounts for around 90 per cent of the 80 million voters, says a political analyst.

"I don't know from which point of view they [politicians] do it. To me, it is form of religious exploitation," Dilara Chowdhury, a professor of government and politics at Jahangirnagar University, said.

Established after the death of the saint sometime in mid 13th century, the shrine is usually visited by tens of thousands of devotees who seek divine blessings and prosperity in their materialistic life.

Visits by the politicians, top government officials or diplomats are not uncommon. A former British high commissioner in Dhaka, Anwar Chowdhury, was injured in an attack by the Islamists in May 2004 when he was offering prayer at the shrine.

But nothing could stop the devotees from paying visit to the shrine. (dpa)