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Sheikh Hasina thrust in Bangladesh poll prod: India calls for 'inclusive' elections

A rally by the Hizb-ut Tahrir, a banned outfit, in Dhaka on Friday as part of its March for Khilafat programme. Many wondered whether such a big rally by an outlawed outfit could be organised in the heart of the capital without government patronage.

Seven months after Sheikh Hasina was deposed and fled to India, New Delhi has spoken, unequivocally, of the need for Bangladesh to hold “inclusive and participatory” elections.

Two sharp points lie woven between the lines spelt out by the ministry of external affairs on Friday — that the Awami League of Sheikh Hasina, currently India’s guest, should not be barred from contesting, and that India takes a dim view of the Mohammed Yunus-led dispensation getting an extended lease on power.

“We support a stable, peaceful, inclusive and progressive Bangladesh in which all issues are resolved through democratic means and by holding inclusive and participatory elections,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, replying to a question about the eastern neighbour.

Bangladesh has been in turmoil since street protests ousted Hasina last August and the interim government under Yunus took charge. Demands for early polls have become louder in the country, fanned by questions about the legitimacy of the interim government, which has failed to restore law and order or address economic woes.

While Yunus has set a timeframe for the polls — between December 2025 and June 2026 — he has not outlined any road map.

Further uncertainty has been injected by the repeated assertions from some youth leaders, who call themselves students and hold considerable sway over Yunus, that political reforms should

precede elections.

These young men, who cut their teeth in the Jamaat-e-Islami and the banned Hizb-ut Tahrir, want a ban on the Awami League. One of them, Sarjis Alam, has spoken about “trying and hanging” Hasina before polls are held, deepening the doubts over the electoral process.

The question now hanging over the political landscape is whether Yunus has the mandate to oversee polls.

Hizb-ut Tahrir rally at Baitul Mukarram area in Dhaka. The rally was brought out as part of March for Khilafat programme after the end of Friday prayers

Given the interim government’s antipathy for Hasina’s party — reflected in a nationwide crackdown on its leaders and supporters — some among the intelligentsia believe that any election should be held under a caretaker government.

“The interim government was sworn in apparently following advice from the Supreme Court, but no one has seen the so-called communiqué,” barrister Tania Amir, a constitutional expert, told this newspaper.

“Our Constitution has the provision for a caretaker government with the immediate past chief justice as its head in case of a vacuum.… This interim government is ultra vires and should be replaced with a caretaker government to ensure inclusive and participatory elections.”

Amir advocated a nationwide operation to round up the convicted terrorists who have been released from jail, and to recover the weapons that these “rogue elements, enjoying the blessings of the government”, looted from the law-enforcing agencies over the last six months or so.

Jaiswal voiced similar concerns about the situation in Bangladesh, which has seen a spurt in all kinds of crimes, especially those against women.

“We remain concerned about the deteriorating law-and-order situation, further exacerbated by the release of violent extremists who (had been) sentenced for serious crimes,” Jaiswal said.

His comment can be construed as India’s rebuttal to Yunus’s claim during an interview with the BBC that the crime rate in Bangladesh had not increased after his government came to power.

The Daily Star, a publication that has been soft on Yunus, recently cited police reports to assert a 50 per cent rise in robberies across Bangladesh over the last six months.

“The actual rise is much higher as most crimes are not reported. People are reluctant to lodge complaints for fear of reprisal,” a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said.

Touching on a sensitive subject in Dhaka-New Delhi relations, Jaiwal said it was the responsibility of the interim government to protect Hindus and other minorities, as well as their properties and religious institutions.

“...Only 1,254 incidents out of over 2,374 incidents reported from August 5, 2024, to February 16, 2025, have been verified by the police,” Jaiswal said. “Further, 98 per cent of these 1,254 incidents were deemed ‘political in nature’. We expect Bangladesh to thoroughly investigate and bring all perpetrators of killings, arson and violence to justice without making such distinctions.”

Ganga talks

Jaiswal said the 86th meeting of the joint committee formed to oversee the implementation of the Ganga Water Treatybetween India and Bangladesh was held in Calcutta onMarch 6.

“At the meeting, the two sides discussed technicalissues pertaining to theGanga Water Treaty, measurement of water flows and other issues of mutual interest,” he said.