Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Wednesday asked the country's 15 million Hindus not to be 'tied' to the rival Awami League, claiming she had done much more for them during her two tenures.

 Zia urged the community to 'break the wrong notion' of the League that Hindus were tied with that party.

"You (Hindus) should break this wrong perception of the Awami League through your activities. The Awami League thinks that the Hindu community is tied with them... they would vote for them no matter how they are used," she told an election rally at a school in downtown Dhaka.

Around 6,000 Hindus of various professions from 28 groups around the national capital joined her Bangladesh National Party (BNP) when their leader Ranjit Chakravorty symbolically presented a bouquet to Zia.

"BNP does not believe in majority or minority as it believes that all are Bangladeshis," the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency quoted her as saying.

Zia is perceived as being way ahead of her rivals of the 17-party partnership in her alliance's campaign for general elections due next month.

She has reportedly chosen her candidates and tied up with her ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's premier Islamist party.

However, the BNP-led alliance's past record -- of indirectly supporting radical Islamist groups -- has strengthened the perception of it being cold to the aspirations of religious minorities.

Zia said the BNP wanted the people of all faiths to peacefully live in Bangladesh enjoying equal rights and dignity and make Bangladesh a prosperous country and build an educated nation.

"But another party (indicating AL) wants to destroy, weaken and make Bangladesh a dysfunctional state, keeping people illiterate to go to power," he said.

She accused the Awami League of having grabbed lands and other property of the Hindu community and repressed them when they were in power.

Zia may contest elections from five constituencies including Dinajpur-3, Bogra-6 and Comilla-8. The others will be in Barisal and in Dhaka.

She has always contested elections from five constituencies and won all of them.