Opinion | Bangladesh Poll Results: Why It's Time For Dhaka And Delhi To Mend Fences

The choice before India is simple. It can cling to old friendships and complain about Chinese inroads, or it can adapt to a changed Bangladesh with patience and realism

Bangladesh’s election on February 12 may look like a domestic affair. It isn’t. For India, it is a reminder that neighbourhood politics never stay local for long. Dhaka is changing, the old certainties are gone, and New Delhi cannot afford to watch from the sidelines while others step in.

Sheikh Hasina, India’s closest ally in Bangladesh, is out of power. Her Awami League has been banned, she remains in self-imposed exile in New Delhi, and the political order she dominated for more than a decade has collapsed. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Tarique Rahman has claimed a sweeping victory in the country’s first parliamentary election since a student-led revolution toppled the last government in 2024. Historically, BNP governments have had cooler, often uneasy, relations with India. At the same time, China has expanded its investment and diplomatic outreach in Bangladesh, including a reported defence deal to build a drone factory near Bangladesh’s border with India.

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