Bangladesh Election Today: Voting began on the morning of February 12 in Bangladesh’s crucial general election – the first since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled in nationwide student-led protests in August 2024. Hasina is currently in exile in India and her party – the Awami League – has been banned from contesting the election.
Voting began in 299 of the 300 parliamentary constituencies across the country at 7:30 am (local time) and will continue until 4:30 pm. Voting in one precinct was canceled due to the death of a candidate.
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Counting of votes is expected to begin shortly after voting closes. The results are expected on Friday. The 13th parliamentary elections are held at the same time as the referendum on the comprehensive 84-point reform package.
Bipolar contest of BNP vs Jamaat
The contest is mainly between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its former ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of Hasina’s now-dissolved Awami League. The interim government of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus dissolved the Awami League last year and barred it from contesting elections.
Yunus, who promised to quickly hand over power to the elected government, called on political parties, candidates and other concerned parties to maintain restraint, tolerance and democratic behavior on election day.
For the first time, nearly 8,00,000 overseas Bangladeshis who have registered with the electoral body will be able to vote through the IT-based postal voting system.
New Delhi – Dhaka links
New Delhi is watching the Bangladesh vote closely for several reasons.
During the fifteen years of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League rule in Bangladesh, New Delhi enjoyed friendly relations with Dhaka.
Hasina served as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2009 to 2024. During this period, India treated Bangladesh as an important strategic partner and ally in maintaining security in South Asia.
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The ties between the neighboring nations have seen many breakthroughs. The 2015 land boundary agreement was a landmark decision after the 1974 agreement languished for decades with India not ratifying it. The agreement facilitated the transfer of 17,160.63 acres of land from India to Bangladesh, while India received 7,110.02 acres from Bangladesh.
India was Bangladesh’s largest trading partner in Asia. Between April 2023 and March 2024, before Hasina’s fall, India sold $11.1 billion worth of goods, including textiles, tea, coffee, auto parts, electricity, agriculture, iron and steel and plastics.
India imported $1.8 billion worth of ready-made garments, leather and leather goods, among others, according to a report in Al Jazeera.
What has changed since August 2024?
However, ties between Delhi and Dhaka began to deteriorate soon after the ouster of the Hasina-led Awami League regime on 5 August 2024 and subsequent violence against minorities, particularly the Hindu community.
As violence ensued across Bangladesh, Hasina fled to India.
While she remains in exile in India, at home she has been convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for ordering the use of lethal force against protesters. Earlier this month, a special court in Bangladesh sentenced her to a total of 10 years in prison in two separate corruption cases linked to alleged irregularities in the allocation of government land under the Purbachal New Town project.
Bangladesh’s caretaker government has repeatedly and unsuccessfully asked India to extradite Hasina, especially after a Dhaka court sentenced her to death late last year for ordering a deadly crackdown on an insurgency against her government in 2024.
A United Nations report estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed and thousands injured, although Hasina denies ordering the killing.
Request for release
Bangladesh has formally requested her extradition from India. This request and its denials so far also appeared in the election campaign.
New Delhi fears that Hasina’s ouster has created space for groups hostile to India amid rising anti-India rhetoric and violence in Bangladesh, according to experts on South Asian politics. Attacks on minorities – including Bangladesh’s Hindu population – have increased tensions, they said.
Attack on Hindus
AND A country with a Muslim majority, Bangladesh has over 1.3 million Hindus. With the rise and return of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, which have a poor record on minority security, there is also a sense of fear among Hindus, according to Indian newspaper reports from the ground ahead of the elections.
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The Hindu community represented the traditional support base of Hasina’s Awami League.
Following the August 2024 uprising, violent incidents targeting the Hindu community in Bangladesh were reported, resulting in many deaths and attacks on homes and businesses.
According to community leaders reported by Indian newspapers, there have been about 2,700 incidents of targeted violence against Hindus in the last 18 months of the Yunus-led interim government.
In recent weeks, India has restricted tourist visas for Bangladeshis and has also withdrawn the families of Indian diplomats from Bangladesh, citing security concerns ahead of national elections.
Diplomatic tensions also affected sports ties. Last month, Bangladesh withdrew from Men’s T20 World Cup after the International Cricket Council rejected a request to move their group matches from India to co-hosts Sri Lanka.
This happened after the famous Bangladesh bowler, Mustafizur Rahman has been dropped from the Indian Premier League team following pressure from Hindu groups following attacks on the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.
BNP, Jamaat is not so friendly with India
Deterioration of bonds from each other, ithe two major players in today’s election – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tariq Rahman and Jamaat-e-Islami – has historically not had very friendly relations with India, unlike during Sheikh Hasina’s uninterrupted 15-year rule since 2009.
“People in Bangladesh see India as complicit in Sheikh Hasina’s crimes,” Humaiun Kobir, foreign affairs adviser to prime ministerial candidate Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told Reuters ahead of today’s vote.
In an interview with The Week this month Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgirgeneral secretary of the BNP, said that the disputes between the two nations need to be resolved.
“First, water sharing issues between two neighbors need to be honestly resolved, not just discussed.” Second, the border killings must stop. This is unacceptable in any civilized society. Third, business matters require fair resolution. The recent cricket related incident was unfortunate and unnecessary. This caused reactions on both sides. These matters should be resolved through immediate dialogue, bearing in mind sovereignty, self-respect and mutual trust,” he said.
Indian Foreign of Minister S. Jaishankar The visit during Begum Khaleda Zia’s bereavement was a positive gesture, Alamgir said.
Safe Northeast
Bordered by India on three sides and the Bay of Bengal to the south, Bangladesh relies on it for trade, transit and security cooperation, while New Delhi needs stable relations with Dhaka to manage its land border.
Bangladesh stocks and 4000 km border with Indiatouching five northeastern states. Thus, stability in Dhaka directly affects the management of cross-border insurgencies, border security and migration flows, and transit and infrastructure projects.
Under Hasina, Dhaka acted decisively against anti-Indian militant groups. However, it remains to be seen how the next government will work with India.
If the new Bangladeshi dispensation takes a more nationalistic stance towards India, security cooperation could weaken – complicating India’s internal security architecture in the northeast, experts say.
‘Begin Again’
Under these circumstances, the new government in Dhaka it will give both sides an opportunity to stop the deterioration of relations and start anew, says Praveen Donthi of the International Crisis Group.
“Both sides have shown intent to turn over a new leaf.” Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit Funeral of Khaleda Ziawear Prime Minister Narendra ModiThe letter referring to a ‘fresh start’ signals that New Delhi is willing to take small steps towards normalizing relations if the new government in Dhaka shares this intention,” Donthi told LiveMnt.
In a letter handed over by Jaishankar to Tarique Rehman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sincere condolences on the death of his mother, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
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Modi he said his thoughts are with the people of Bangladesh and that while her passing will leave an irreplaceable void, her vision and legacy will live on.
It will all depend on how both sides manage domestic political tussles and pressures.
“It will all depend on how both sides manage domestic political thrusts and pressures,” Donthi said.
Key things
- The election is a critical moment for Bangladesh’s political future after the ouster of Hasina.
- India’s relationship with Bangladesh may shift significantly depending on the stance of the new government.
- The election results could threaten the security and rights of minority communities in Bangladesh.