Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed BNP leader and future Bangladeshi counterpart Tarique Rahman after his party’s landslide victory in Bangladesh’s general elections on Thursday.
In a post on social media platform X, Modi said, “I am pleased to have spoken to Mr. Tarique Rahman. I congratulated him on his remarkable victory in the Bangladesh elections.”
“I have expressed my best wishes and support in his endeavor to fulfill the aspirations of the Bangladeshi people,” the prime minister added.
“As two close neighbors with deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, I reaffirmed India’s enduring commitment to the peace, progress and prosperity of both our nations,” Modi also said.
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Bangladesh election results
According to Prothom Alo, out of the announced 297 seats, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies secured 212 seats. The electoral alliance of 11 parties led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami won 77 seats, Islami Andolan Bangladesh won one seat and independent candidates seven.
Party figures show that the BNP won 209 seats on its own. Jamaat-e-Islami claimed 68 seats, Jatiya Nagorik Party six, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis two, Khelafat Majlis one, Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP one, Gana Sanghati Andolon one and Gana Adhikar Parishad one seat, Prothom Alo reported.
Rahman told AFP two days before the vote that he was “confident” his party – crushed during the 15-year autocratic rule of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – would regain power in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.
Hasina’s Awami League party could not attend.
The US embassy congratulated Rahman and the BNP on a “historic victory”, while neighboring India hailed Rahman’s “decisive victory” as a major step after the recent rocky relations with Bangladesh.
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The BNP was also congratulated by China and Pakistan, which have become closer to Bangladesh since the uprising and the breakdown of relations with India, where Hasina has been in hiding since her ouster.
Voting was largely peaceful and the country was reported to be peaceful since election day.
‘Tarique Rahman’s victory is a victory for democracy’: Ex-diplomat welcomes Bangladesh poll results
Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri hailed the results of the recent elections in Bangladesh as a great triumph for its people and a clear confirmation of democratic values.
“Yesterday’s election results represent a great victory for the people of Bangladesh,” she remarked, according to an ANI report.
Sikri described the result as a direct setback to Islamist forces that have been aggressively vying for power.
“I think Tariq Rehman’s victory is a victory for democracy because Jamaat-e-Islami ran a very strong campaign, using financial inducements and religious inducements. They were really with the support of the Western powers and the support of Pakistan. They were all really ready to form the government themselves,” she explained.