As Bangladesh faces a seismic political shift, India must rewire Dhaka netoworks
By NIRENDRA DEV
New Delhi, February 14, 2026 — India in the hindsight read the writing on the wall in advance in Bangladesh. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar may feel vindicated that he met only Tarique Rehman in his Dhaka outing when he visited Bangladesh to pay respects to Khaleeda Zia. Rehman, inheriting the leadership of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is now set to be next Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Yet New Delhi can’t be jubilant. Rehman in an interview to Time has spoken of a need for “revision in many of the pacts with India signed” when Sheikh Hasina was at the helm in Dhaka. The BNP had extended support to the students’ agitation that felled Hasina. The BNP also had supported the Interim Government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus. The BNP also will be aware that an assertive Jamaat-e-Islami after a surge in strength in parliament will be restive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Rehman on his victory. India’s framing of the BNP victory as a “triumph of democracy” is also appropriate. The stage is set for a reset in India-Bangladesh ties.
In the past when the BNP held power in Dhaka, India had struck effective working relations with the party. The BNP has built an anti-India reputation. But permanence is neither a virtue of politics nor diplomacy.
Rehman will take the hot seat wearing a crown full of thorns. Mounting foreign debt and an unwilling China in relaxing the payment schedules. Rampant unemployment among the youth. Industrial disruptions. Textile industry, the mainstay of Bangladesh economy, in ruptures. Rehman is inheriting a bruised Bangladesh.
Rehman was in an exile for 17 years. He has the advantage of looking at Bangladesh from London. He will be aware of stakes of Bangladesh in geopolitics. Hasina’s last few months were marred with running speculations over American interests in acquiring St. Martin Island. Washington has already moved quickly to position in Dhaka for the new upcoming regime.
India will need to be a steady partner of Bangladesh. The 18 months of interim regime now belong to history. An economic package from New Delhi is worth exploring. But that must at the same time should be accompanied with an unequivocal commitment from Dhaka that there will be no space for anti-India activities in Bangladesh.
There can be targeted investments in RMG exports, infrastructure, and job creation to stabilise the transition. In other words, India has to rebuild the goodwill in Dhaka.
Bangladesh now faces a seismic political shift. The absence of the Awami League paves the way for further rise of Jamaat-e-Islami. Rehman told Time that his government will formally request for the extradition of Hasina. That thorn in ties stays between India and Bangladesh.
(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are author’s own.)
Bangladesh Rejects ‘Revolution’ and Yunus to Reclaim History
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