There is no possibility of major changes regarding Dhaka-Delhi
Last Updated on June 6, 2024 8:52 am
After the elections in India, there is no possibility of any change in the relationship between Dhaka and Delhi even during the new government. This time no party got a single majority in the polls. As a result, there is a struggle to form a coalition government in India. The new government is going to take oath on Saturday. If the NDA alliance fails to break, the Narendra Modi-led alliance will form the government for the third consecutive term. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on its victory. In a message sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he congratulated the NDA alliance on its victory in the 18th Lok Sabha elections.
Modi also gave an immediate reply to Sheikh Hasina’s congratulations. In a message to X, Narendra Modi said, I thank Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her warm wishes. India and Bangladesh have historic ties, which have grown exponentially over the past decade. I look forward to working together to further strengthen our people-centric partnership.
India generally has a consensus on foreign policy. As a result, even if the government changes, there is no major change in foreign policy. As a result, this time too the foreign policy will change as much as it needs to be changed to conform to the changing global and regional situation.
Analysts say that Modi’s ‘neighbourhood friendly’ policy will not change much. In 2021, relations between the two countries deteriorated after India clashed with China at the Galvan border. Arunachal has been marked as part of China on the map. As a result, India is also keeping an eye on China’s relations with its neighbours. Especially after the establishment of a pro-Chinese government in Maldives, India’s attention on China’s relationship with Bangladesh has increased. Bangladesh’s military cooperation with China in particular has always been sensitive to India.
Analysts say the government will be more dependent on Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh and Nitish Kumar in Bihar among the regional partners in the alliance. But it is also believed that the parties will not bother much about foreign policy. Naidu was also the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Then they had alliance with Congress. Either Naidu or Nitish Kumar will have a vested interest in getting more allocations in their respective states and getting important Cabinet posts from their parties. The BJP did not go far with the discriminatory citizenship law and civil registry against the minority Muslims.
However, neither Naidu’s party nor Nitish’s party of different ideologies of BJP has spoken much about these issues. West Bengal has an opportunity to play a role in relations with Bangladesh among regional states. During Jyotivasu’s tenure as Chief Minister, the Ganga water sharing agreement was signed with his help. At that time Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister who was not from BJP or Congress. The relationship with Bangladesh is almost the same during the tenure of Congress or BJP. As a result, there is little chance of major changes in the Dhaka-Delhi relationship.
India’s former High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said on Wednesday that there will be no change in relations with Bangladesh. India’s foreign policy has always been a bipartisan policy. This agreement is also outside the Parliament. There will be a strong BJP-led government in the future as well. Modi’s neighborly policy will remain. The number of people who voted in elections in India is more than the total population of the entire European Union. India is a great democratic country. There are ups and downs in politics. The election was free and fair. There was talk about EVMs. Now it is seen that fair election has been done using EVM. India achieved eight percent growth between elections.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is visiting India. The people of India are ready to welcome him.
Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, another high commissioner of India in Bangladesh, said that there will not be much change in foreign policy. Whether the government changes or not, the relationship will continue. Some adjustments may be made to changes in global policy. Foreign policy is made in the national interest. Even if the government changes, the national interest remains the same. There is no ideological factor in foreign policy.
Former ambassador M Humayun Kabir said that Modi is the prime minister. BJP is the main party. As a result, there will be no change in the relationship with Bangladesh. As the BJP does not get a single majority, the new coalition government will have to discuss more about the policies of the BJP in the coalition. India’s domestic economic reforms may be challenged; But there will be no change in foreign policy.
Former ambassador Touhid Hossain said that there is a very good relationship between Bangladesh and India. Leaders of both sides say that this is the golden chapter of bilateral relations. If there is an opportunity to make this relationship better, it will. Modi’s party has no other party in the number of seats it has won. As a result, there is no sign of the relationship changing.