What Happened
- Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was sworn in as Bangladesh's new Prime Minister on February 17, 2026, after the BNP secured a landslide victory with more than a two-thirds majority in parliament.
- This was the first general election since the July 2024 student-led uprising that ousted former PM Sheikh Hasina, ending her 15-year rule.
- India-Bangladesh relations had plunged to historic lows after the 2024 uprising, marked by trade restrictions, recriminations, and India's sheltering of Hasina in exile.
- PM Modi wrote to congratulate Tarique Rahman, signalling intent to engage with the new government.
- The BNP's manifesto outlines a "Bangladesh First" foreign policy prioritising sovereignty, security, and public welfare, with a "more transactional approach" toward both India and Pakistan.
- Analysts expect the BNP to pursue a pragmatic but recalibrated relationship with India, potentially diversifying its foreign partnerships including with China.
Static Topic Bridges
India-Bangladesh Bilateral Relations: Key Issues
India-Bangladesh relations encompass a wide range of bilateral issues spanning water sharing, border management, trade, transit, and connectivity. The relationship has historically fluctuated depending on which party is in power in Dhaka.
- India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km border — India's longest international border — managed under the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) framework.
- The Land Boundary Agreement (LBA, 2015) resolved the long-standing enclaves issue, exchanging 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in India through the 100th Constitutional Amendment.
- Teesta Water Dispute: India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, but agreements exist for only two — the Ganges (1996 treaty, expires 2026) and the Kushiyara (2022). A 2011 agreement to share Teesta waters (India 42.5%, Bangladesh 37.5%) was shelved due to West Bengal's opposition.
- Trade: Bangladesh is India's largest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade exceeded $13 billion in FY 2023-24. India provides duty-free access for Bangladeshi goods under SAFTA LDC provisions.
- Transit/Connectivity: Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) facilitates waterway transportation. India uses Bangladeshi territory for accessing its North-Eastern states via Ashuganj port and Chattogram.
- Rohingya crisis: Both countries face refugee pressures, with Bangladesh hosting over 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Connection to this news: The change of government in Dhaka from Hasina's Awami League (traditionally closer to India) to BNP (historically closer to China and Pakistan) requires India to recalibrate its Bangladesh strategy from the personal rapport model to an institutional engagement model based on mutual interests.
Bangladesh's July 2024 Uprising and Democratic Transition
The July-August 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh represented one of the most significant democratic upheavals in South Asian history, driven by students protesting against quota reforms and eventually toppling the Hasina government.
- July 2024: Student-led protests against the reinstatement of a quota system reserving 30% of government jobs for descendants of 1971 freedom fighters escalated into a mass uprising.
- August 5, 2024: PM Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India after the military refused to use further force against protesters.
- Interim government formed under Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus to oversee democratic transition.
- The July Charter (2025): A political declaration signed by 26 parties and the interim government, encompassing over 80 reform proposals, including a non-partisan caretaker government system and an upper house.
- A constitutional referendum held alongside the February 2026 election received 68% "Yes" votes approving the reform package.
- Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal issued proceedings against Hasina over her handling of the deadly 2024 protests.
Connection to this news: The democratic transition from the interim government to an elected BNP government completes the political cycle triggered by the 2024 uprising. For India, the challenge lies in engaging a government that came to power partly on anti-Hasina (and by extension, anti-India) sentiment.
India's Neighbourhood First Policy
India's Neighbourhood First Policy, articulated since 2014, prioritises relations with immediate neighbours, offering development assistance, connectivity projects, and diplomatic engagement to counter Chinese influence in South Asia.
- Neighbourhood First Policy articulated by PM Modi from 2014, building on the Gujral Doctrine (1996) of non-reciprocal accommodation with smaller neighbours.
- Key pillars include: development assistance (Lines of Credit, grants), connectivity (road, rail, waterway, power grid), capacity building, and people-to-people ties.
- India provides significant development assistance to Bangladesh — over $8 billion in Lines of Credit committed since 2010.
- India has extended three Lines of Credit totalling $8 billion to Bangladesh for infrastructure, railways, and power sector projects.
- BBIN (Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal) Motor Vehicles Agreement facilitates seamless road connectivity.
- India-Bangladesh power trade includes electricity exports and cross-border grid interconnection — the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline for diesel was also inaugurated.
Connection to this news: The BNP government's "Bangladesh First" approach and its intent to diversify foreign partnerships test the effectiveness of India's Neighbourhood First Policy, highlighting the need to move beyond leader-dependent diplomacy to institution-based engagement.
Key Facts & Data
- Tarique Rahman: New PM of Bangladesh (BNP), sworn in February 17, 2026
- Two-thirds majority: BNP's parliamentary strength after the 2026 elections
- 4,096 km: India-Bangladesh border (India's longest)
- 54 rivers: Shared between India and Bangladesh; agreements for only 2 (Ganges, Kushiyara)
- $13 billion+: India-Bangladesh bilateral trade (FY 2023-24)
- $8 billion: Indian Lines of Credit to Bangladesh since 2010
- 68%: "Yes" vote in Bangladesh's constitutional reform referendum
- 100th Constitutional Amendment (2015): Enabled Land Boundary Agreement implementation
- July 2024: Student uprising that ousted PM Sheikh Hasina
- 26 parties: Signatories to the July Charter (2025)