North-East looks forward to stable, friendly Bangladesh under BNP rule

As the detailed preparations for the much-awaited general election in Bangladesh fructified without any untoward ado last Thursday, and the results the next day showed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP, led by Tarique Rahman) had established a landslide victory, the people of North-East India now expect a stable, progressive and friendly regime in Dhaka.

- NAVA THAKURIA

One of the oldest political parties in the South Asian nation, the BNP won over 200 constituencies in the 300-member national parliament (Jatiya Sansad), whereas its nearest rival, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and allies, secured 77 seats. The country’s pioneer political party, the ousted Awami League, was out of the race after 15 years of continuous rule, as its activities were banned by the interim government following its chairperson and former premier Sheikh Hasina being forced to flee to India on 5 August, 2024. The Muslim majority country of 170 million people was ruled by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus from 8 August.

The 13th Jatiya Sansad polls, conducted amid tight security and improved technological monitoring, witnessed a voter turnout of around 60% (out of a 127.7-million electorate). The polling was largely peaceful, with registered voters exercising their franchise in overall trouble-free conditions, contrary to previous polling, which were controversial owing to very low voter turnouts. Nearly 2,000 candidates belonging to 51 political parties as well as independent contestants were in the fray. For the first time in 35 years, no one was killed in election-related violence on polling day, though seven persons died around polling centres across the country because of natural causes. One polling officer collapsed while on duty in Brahmanbaria, a former BNP leader in Khulna and five voters died due to illness in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gaibandha, Kishoreganj and Manikganj.