Eid greetings, Bangladesh polls and future of Hasina’s Awami League

Guwahati: Despite strained bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dhaka-based interim government head Dr Muhammad Yunus, shared cordial greetings on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. In an official letter dated 4 June 2025, Prime Minister Modi, representing the people and administration of Bharat, extended best wishes to Dr Yunus and the citizens of Bangladesh on the occasion of the Islamic festival. Expressing gratitude to PM Modi for his considerate message, cordial greetings, and warm wishes on Eid, Dr Yunus in a letter dated 6 June stated that Eid-ul-Azha is a period of contemplation that unites communities in the spirit of celebration, sacrifice, generosity, and solidarity, motivating everyone to collaborate for the greater good of people worldwide.

The lone Nobel laureate from Bangladesh, who assumed leadership of the interim government last year after a student-led public uprising that resulted in the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 (and subsequently forced her to leave Dhaka and seek refuge in India), recently declared that the 13th Jatiya Sansad elections will take place in the first half of April 2026. Talking about three mandates of the current administration—reform, justice, and elections—Dr Yunus commented that the nation expects an inclusive election that pays tribute to the sacrifices of martyrs. He stated that millions of young people would engage in the electoral process for the first time and would hold candidates and political parties accountable if the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity were compromised.

He did not forget to refer the public misery orchestrated by the Hasina-led Awami League government in Dhaka for decades. Over the past 16 years of authoritarian rule, numerous individuals were forcibly disappeared to quell political dissent, remarked Dr Yunus, noting that many were held in clandestine detention centers (recently revealed in Dhaka, Chapainawabganj, and Bogra), which are currently under investigation. He acknowledged that Bangladesh is ‘in a state of war’ and urged the populace to unify against the fugitive prime minister, who had previously named numerous infrastructures and institutions after her family members, although these names have now been altered.

Now the question that arises, if the Awami League can participate in the 13th Parliamentary elections of Bangladesh as the country’s oldest was lately restricted by the Yunus-led administration under a modified anti-terror law and the election authorities suspended its registration. Besides Hasina and hundreds of her party leaders are still on the run to escape the arrest. Many of them will have to face legal battles against a number of police complaints lodged in their home country. Some of them commented on social media that Dr Yunus was simply buying time and spreading a wrong narrative against the leaders of Awami League.
No official statement has been issued by Hasina or other leaders over the election roadmap for Bangladesh. However, an America based Awami League leader condemned the declaration of ‘so-called elections’ arguing that Hasina was democratically elected and according to the Bangladesh Constitution she should continue with the position till 2029. Hasina herself now faces an extradition directive from the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh to get her produced before the tribunal on 16 June next.
Dhaka even introduced a series of new currency notes where the mandatory image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Hasina’s father and Bangladesh independence hero) has been replaced by natural landscapes, historic palaces, heritage sites (including Hindu and Buddhist temples), etc. The existing notes with the image of Hasina’s father continue to be in circulation and those will be wiped out in due course of time. However, while talking to this writer from Dhaka a number of journalists, revealed that the newly designed banknotes are scarcely available among the people. They guess, the new notes are printed with a minimal number on an experimental basis.
Regarding the poll timing, the prime opposition Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party expressed disappointment that mid-April is a bad choice for polls because of extreme heat, rains and examinations in educational institutions. Similarly, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh and Amar Bangladesh Party emphasized on conducting the polls in the coming winter. However, the newly launched National Citizen Party along with Nagarik Oikya and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party welcomed the timing.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders also appreciated the election roadmap. It may be mentioned that Jamaat was recently allowed by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to restore its registration as a political party. Once maligned for its pro-Pakistani roles during the 1971 Liberation War and subsequently banned, the Islamic party now prepares for participating in the forthcoming general election. Political observers believe that along with BNP, the Jamaat has now emerged as a front runner in the polls after consolidating a large volume of religious voters in the Muslim majority nation.