PM Modi congratulates Sheikh Hasina on 5th term victory in Bangladesh polls

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to Bangladesh's counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday to convey his greetings for securing a fifth term after leading the Awami League to victory in the parliamentary elections.

“Spoke to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and congratulated her on her victory for a historic fourth consecutive term in the Parliamentary elections,” Modi posted on X after his phone call with Hasina. “I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh for the successful conduct of elections.”

His comment signaled New Delhi’s subtle acknowledgment of the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh, notwithstanding concerns in the United States and some other countries in the West over the manner in which polling was conducted without the participation of the main opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

Candidates of the Awami League (AL) won in 224 of the 299 constituencies where polling was held on Sunday for the 12th general elections to the national parliament of Bangladesh. The elections were boycotted by the AL’s arch-rival Bangladesh National Party (BNP) as Hasina rejected its demand to step down and let the polls be held under a caretaker government. The turnout for the polling was as low as 40%.

The United States and some Western nations earlier raised questions about the fairness of the elections in Bangladesh. New Delhi, however, refrained from echoing the concerns of the US-led West that Hasina and her AL had resorted to authoritarianism, denying political space to the Opposition.

Ever since Hasina commenced her second term in January 2009, India’s relations with Bangladesh have been on a positive trajectory, with the settlement of the land boundary dispute as well as significant progress in economic and security cooperation.

“We are committed to further strengthening our enduring and people-centric partnership with Bangladesh,” Modi added, indicating New Delhi’s intent to keep the India-Bangladesh relations on the positive trajectory as it had been since Hasina had returned to the office of the prime minister of her country for her second stint. She had earlier headed the Government of Bangladesh as the prime minister from 1996 to 2001.

The first few foreign envoys who called on Hasina in Dhaka after the declaration of the poll results included India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, who officially congratulated her. The envoys of Russia and China also called on her.

A three-member delegation of the Election Commission of India (ECI) visited Bangladesh as an observer to the parliamentary election in the neighbouring country.

“We appreciate the efforts of the Election Commission of Bangladesh and its meticulous planning and arrangements made for the conduct of the election process," the three member delegation of the ECI stated after witnessing the polling on Sunday. "We have visited a number of polling stations and have witnessed the polling process first hand. We saw citizens of Bangladesh exercising their electoral rights at these stations peacefully, " stated the delegation, which was led by Dharmendra Sharma, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner of the poll panel of India.