The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has won a landslide victory in the recent election and formed a government with its leader, Tarique Rahman, becoming the country’s first male prime minister elected to the post in decades. Rahman has an interesting past. His road to the top post, two decades after being barred from elections (due to cases) and going into exile under the previous Awami League government, is dramatic, with his return to Bangladesh just days before the death of his mother and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Despite securing more than two-thirds of the elected seats in the Jatiya Sangsad (the nation’s Parliament), the BNP has many challenges ahead.
As the first elected government since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, the first order of business should be to restore old political institutions and effect a political reconciliation. This could mean releasing political prisoners. But will it include an outreach to the banned Awami League, many of whose supporters did not vote? Another serious challenge will be to deal with the Jamaat-e-Islami, whose coalition won about 75 seats in Parliament, its best performance yet. As a more vocal opposition now, the Jamaat, whose leaders have pitched a regressive line on women’s rights and religious politics, will try to push the new government to the right. Voters have also emphatically supported the ‘July Charter’ referendum, which calls for a caretaker government, reforms that could shift the powers of the prime minister and the upper house in Parliament with proportional representation.
Meanwhile, diplomats believe that Rahman must also hit the ground running to revive the economy and restore trade links with India. For New Delhi, keen to reset ties after they hit a nadir under the interim head Muhammad Yunus, outreach to the new government is important. The Modi government has had tensions with the BNP, as it reduced engagement with the Opposition in Bangladesh during Hasina’s tenure. It must now reclaim the space ceded to
Pakistan, the US and China, which have each forged new relations with Bangladesh since Hasina’s ouster. Perhaps more than bilateral relations, ruptured trade and connectivity, security and sporting ties, New Delhi and Dhaka must repair the frayed ties between their peoples. In Bangladesh, securing India’s missions and ensuring the safety of minorities will be essential.
Reconciliation moves
Fortunately, both sides are taking steps towards reconciliation by resuming visa services. India had suspended most of its visa services in Bangladesh in late 2024, following unrest after Hasina’s ouster. It closed visa centres in Dhaka and Chittagong in late 2025, citing security concerns. Bangladesh, in turn, froze Indian tourist visas in December 2025, following violent protests outside Bangladeshi missions in New Delhi and other Indian cities over the lynching of a Hindu man, allegedly at the hands of an Islamist mob in Bangladesh. The unfreezing of visas signals a policy that is the start of a trust-building exercise. The collateral steps of restarting bus and passenger train services will address connectivity, and will also help.
India wants the removal of some non-tariff barriers that will boost trade and economic activity and the restart of projects that were frozen by the Bangladeshi interim government. These could cover issues like river water sharing, illegal migration, treatment of Hindus, security, counter-terrorism and border management.
For India, feel diplomats who have served in Dhaka, it is necessary to dial down the domestic rhetoric against Bangladesh, which is allowing political groups (mostly affiliated to the ruling party) to threaten Bangladeshis in India. The Modi and Rahman governments will have to move most delicately, however, in managing the issue of Hasina, who remains a wanted fugitive in Dhaka and an honoured guest in Delhi, if they are intent on a fresh start in ties. In Bangladesh, there remains a perception that India is still aligned with Hasina’s Awami League.
Modi should convince Rahman, whenever they meet next, that working with India is going to be beneficial for Bangladesh. It is a mutually dependent relationship. India can offer the needed economic support, while also considering and reviewing other concerns Dhaka may have. “There is no need to rush, but both sides will have to be cognizant of each other’s needs and expectations. That’s how good neighbours live,” says a former high commissioner to Bangladesh.