Tarique Rahman and his cabinet ministers took oath, becoming the first elected leaders since the deadly 2024 uprising.
Rahman is set to be the first male prime minister in 35 years in Bangladesh, a country of 170 million, while new parliament members were sworn in by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
About 1,200 dignitaries, including India’s Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, attended the ceremony at Dhaka’s National Parliament. Election results showed the BNP alliance won 212 of 299 seats, returning to power after two decades, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance took 70 seats.
The election, widely seen as the first free and fair vote in nearly 20 years, followed political turmoil. India, the US, and Pakistan congratulated the BNP, with PM Narendra Modi calling the victory “decisive” and affirming support for a democratic Bangladesh.
Rahman, who returned in December after 17 years in London exile, is the son of former PM Khaleda Zia and late President Ziaur Rahman.
The election was Bangladesh’s first truly competitive vote in years, after widespread repression under Sheikh Hasina, including disappearances, torture, and alleged rigging. The Awami League was barred and called for a boycott.
Voter turnout reached 59.4%, up from 42%, with overseas voting allowed for the first time and postal ballots at 80.1%. The 2024 student-led uprising and crackdown left around 1,400 dead. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus oversaw the elections, calling it the end of a “nightmare” and the start of a “new dream.”
Apart from that, the new government plans to request the UK to extradite Labour MP Tulip Siddiq over alleged corruption, a senior aide to prime minister-in-waiting Tarique Rahman said. Siddiq, tried in absentia, was sentenced to up to four years by a Bangladeshi court, though the UK does not recognise the ruling. She and her aunt, ousted PM Sheikh Hasina, were convicted over a land deal in Dhaka. Siddiq denied wrongdoing, calling it a “trial by media.”
Minority leaders secure seats in polls
Four candidates from minority communities, including two Hindus, won seats in Bangladesh’s recent general election, all representing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Among the winners were senior Hindu leaders Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, who secured a seat in Dhaka, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, victorious in Magura, both defeating Jamaat-e-Islami candidates. In the southeast, Marma Buddhist leader Saching Pru won in Bandarban, while Dipen Dewan of the Chakma community triumphed in Rangamati, defeating an independent candidate.
In the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million, where Hindus make up about eight per cent of the population, minority representation remains closely watched. The Election Commission said 79 minority candidates, including 10 women, contested the polls. The Communist Party of Bangladesh fielded the most minority candidates, while the BNP nominated six. In the first, Jamaat-e-Islami nominated a Hindu candidate, Krishna Nandi, though he finished second. In the 2018 and 2024 elections, 17 Hindu lawmakers were elected each time, mostly from the Awami League.
Modi congratulates Rahman, signals reset with Dhaka
After the oath ceremony, PM Narendra Modi congratulated Bangladesh’s newly sworn-in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and invited him to visit India, signalling New Delhi’s intent to engage closely with Dhaka’s new leadership.
In a letter, Modi praised Rahman’s electoral win as a mandate for peace, stability, and prosperity, and highlighted India–Bangladesh’s deep-rooted friendship and shared history. He expressed hope for strengthened cooperation across trade, connectivity, technology, education, energy, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges, and extended a warm invitation for Rahman and his family to visit India.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Tarique Rahman in Dhaka after the swearing-in, conveying India’s greetings. Bangladesh High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah said the leaders expressed optimism about advancing people-centric cooperation between the two nations.
On X, Birla noted he handed over a personal letter from PM Modi, wishing Rahman well and inviting him to visit India. Birla attended the ceremony as India’s representative for the BNP-led government’s return to power.
The interim Bangladeshi government invited leaders from India, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Bhutan. PM Modi was unable to attend due to bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
His remarks signal an effort to reset ties with Bangladesh after strains under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government, caused by border security, illegal migration, and rising anti-Hindu sentiment following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August 2024. India had maintained steady relations with Hasina’s Awami League, focusing on trade, transport, border security, and water-sharing. With the BNP’s return, New Delhi recalls the 2001–2006 period marked by cross-border insurgency and the 2004 Chittagong arms haul.
India eyes pragmatic ties under BNP rule
India is cautiously optimistic following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s landslide victory, viewing the result as an opportunity to reset ties with Dhaka after a turbulent interim phase. Senior officials said the outcome reinforces New Delhi’s position that only a democratically elected government with a popular mandate can ensure stability and predictability in bilateral relations.
From India’s perspective, relations deteriorated during the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, a period official privately described as disruptive, citing delays in restoring democratic processes and public accusations against India. New Delhi rejects that narrative, maintaining it engages with the government chosen by the people. A senior official said the verdict reaffirms democratic values and the spirit of 1971, which underpin India-Bangladesh relations.
A key concern for India during Bangladesh’s interim phase was the reported targeting of Hindu minorities and the perceived space given to Islamist and pro-Pakistan groups, developments New Delhi saw as damaging to bilateral trust and regional stability. With the BNP’s return to power, India views the moment as an opportunity to repair strained ties and is cautiously optimistic about acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s approach, hoping for a more pragmatic engagement driven by economic and strategic realities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swift congratulatory message and likely high-level representation at Rahman’s swearing-in signal New Delhi’s readiness to reset relations.
Senior BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Bangladesh’s ties with India would not be “captive” to any single issue, including the presence of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India. While reiterating Dhaka’s demand for her extradition over alleged human rights violations, he stressed that broader cooperation in trade, development and regional stability would continue. He highlighted upcoming discussions on water-sharing, border issues and economic collaboration, arguing that dialogue, not confrontation, should define the relationship.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What next for Muhammad Yunus?
Bangladesh’s decisive election victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) positions Tarique Rahman as the next prime minister. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who led the interim government after the 2024 uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina, has maintained he was only a caretaker. With constitutional formalities underway, Yunus is expected to step aside, though analysts believe he may continue to play an advisory role, particularly on economic matters, under a BNP-led government.
Yunus, brought back from abroad to stabilise the country and organise credible elections, is expected to step aside once constitutional formalities are complete. Many analysts believe he may continue as an advisor, formally or informally, particularly in economic matters, under a BNP-led administration. While his interim tenure ends, Yunus’s public role in Bangladesh is unlikely to disappear entirely.
His role extended beyond overseeing elections. He inherited what he described as a “completely broken” political system and pushed for a reform charter to prevent a return to one-party dominance. His proposals included two-term limits for prime ministers, stronger judicial independence, greater representation for women, neutral interim governments during elections, and the creation of a second parliamentary chamber. A referendum held alongside the general election sought public backing for these changes.
Whether the incoming BNP government adopts or sidelines these reforms will shape Yunus’s legacy. Analysts suggest the BNP may include Yunus within a broader anti-Hasina political framework. If the reforms gain bipartisan support, Yunus’s influence could endure indirectly; if diluted, his legacy may remain more moral than structural.
