DHAKA, Bangladesh 

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday began her election campaign in the eastern Sylhet district amid election boycott and non-cooperation calls from the opposition parties.

General elections in the South Asian country are slated for Jan. 7.

“Not participating in elections is their (opposition parties) democratic right. But they are creating fear with arson attacks in the name of movement and destroying government property – property that belongs to the people,” she said.

She made the remarks on her first-day campaign after praying at the shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal in Sylhet, from where political parties traditionally begin their election campaign in Bangladesh.

Calling the opposition protest violent which she said will not be successful, she added: “People of the country want this election and want to exercise their voting rights.”

Bangladesh has been mired in a political crisis ahead of the election.

The Election Commission set the upcoming Jan. 7 as the election day while the opposition parties led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced to protest the election calling it a “staged and dummy” election to bring back the incumbent Awami League government for a 4th successive term since 2009.

BNP’s exiled leader Tareq Zia, who went into self-imposed exile in London in 2008, Wednesday virtually announced a non-cooperation movement.

Zia, also acting chairman of BNP and son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, urged people "not to pay taxes, utility bills, not to vote in the Jan. 7 national election, stop deposit in banks, not to appear before courts, and called on government officials not to work."

Since political unrest erupted in late October, at least 21 opposition supporters have been killed, along with a journalist and a policeman.

More than 25,100 BNP supporters have so far been arrested in the turmoil. Over 1,249 others have been handed jail terms, while cases were filed against more than 93,200, according to the party.