DAKHA – Bangladesh has formed a new government under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) after a largely fair and peaceful national election on February 12, 2026. Across eastern India, many people hope this shift brings steady leadership in Dhaka and stronger economic progress for Bangladesh’s 170 million citizens.
At the same time, India’s northeastern states, especially Assam, still see Bangladesh as a serious concern. Two issues drive that worry: ongoing migrant inflows and security risks that affect many indigenous families in the region.
A section of Bangladeshi voices often points to India’s narrow land link to the Northeast, the Siliguri corridor (often called the chicken’s neck). Some fringe elements take this further and talk about absorbing parts of eastern Bharat to form a so-called greater Banglasthan.
They argue that a “successful” country should have a coastline, fertile river valleys, and mountain ranges, then they casually point toward Bhutan and Tibet in their fantasies.
Alongside this, another hardline view keeps surfacing, that Bangladesh, built around a single language identity (Bengali), should also move toward a single religion identity (Islam).
BNP’s Big Win and Tarique Rahman’s Approach
This election had a festive feel that Bangladesh does not often see. Voter turnout hovered around 60 percent, and the BNP won 212 seats in the 300-member Parliament (with 50 additional reserved seats for women to be added to the Jatiya Sansad).
Tarique Rahman, 60, led the BNP campaign. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. During the campaign, he avoided the kind of anti-India messaging that often gets used to stir quick support at home. After taking office as prime minister, Rahman kept a calm tone and spoke about broader ties with neighboring countries, including India.
Anti-India speeches grew louder after the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took shelter in New Delhi. Since her sudden departure on August 5, 2024, she and thousands of Awami League leaders have remained there while seeking political asylum.
Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, repeatedly asked India to extradite Hasina. A Bangladeshi tribunal has sentenced her to death, but India has not responded positively to the requests.
Even so, Prime Minister Rahman avoided sharp public attacks on Hasina. While she dismissed the 13th Jatiya Sansad as a “farce,” Rahman limited his response and said her return should be handled through legal channels.
Minority Candidates, Election Results, and Cabinet Picks
In recent years, Bangladesh drew international attention over reports of attacks on religious minority families. Against that backdrop, four non-Muslim candidates won seats in the latest election. Two were Hindus, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, both nominated by the BNP, and both defeated Jamaat candidates.
Two other winners from minority communities, Saching Pru and Dipen Dewan, also ran as BNP nominees. After the election, Prime Minister Rahman brought Roy Chowdhury and Dewan into his ministry.
Bangladesh’s Hindu population has shrunk over time. It now stands at about 13 million, roughly 8 percent of the country, compared with more than 22 percent at the time of Partition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly congratulated the BNP leadership on its clear victory. He became the first global leader to call Tarique Rahman and said he wanted to work closely with Dhaka for mutual gains.
The BNP welcomed Modi’s outreach. Party leaders said Bangladesh wants constructive engagement with India and closer cooperation based on mutual respect, sensitivity to each other’s concerns, and a shared goal of peace, stability, and prosperity across the region.
Later, Modi congratulated Rahman again after he took office and invited him and his family to visit India when the timing allows. Modi did not attend the swearing-in ceremony on February 17, but he sent Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to represent India. The event took place in the southern courtyard of the Jatiya Sansad Bhawan in Dhaka.
Dr. Yunus on the Election and Regional Cooperation
Before stepping aside, Dr. Yunus addressed the nation on television as head of the caretaker setup. He described the vote as more than a transfer of power, calling it the start of a new phase for Bangladesh’s democracy.
Yunus said the interim government began from “minus,” not even from zero, and blamed the previous leadership (Hasina) for leaving the country in ruins. He also stressed Bangladesh’s opportunities through regional cooperation, including stronger links with Nepal, Bhutan, and India’s northeastern states. He closed by urging citizens and political leaders to protect momentum for peace, progress, and reforms, and to stay united.
Still, India’s concerns remain, especially in Assam. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist party that opposed the 1971 liberation movement and sided with West Pakistan, has become the main opposition force in the Jatiya Sansad for the first time.
Jamaat led an 11-party alliance that won 77 seats. The Shafiqur Rahman-led Jamaat itself won 68 constituencies, including many in areas bordering West Bengal. Meanwhile, the newly formed National Citizen Party, created by student leaders who drove the July-August 2024 uprising that toppled Hasina, teamed up with Jamaat during the election and won six seats.
Because of these shifts, many observers see a growing risk for India’s landlocked Northeast. As a result, New Delhi may need to rework parts of its Bangladesh policy and manage the relationship with extra care in the months ahead.
