Why Khaleda Zia's return could be a challenge for India
Sheikh Hasina's escape to India following a coup, her arch rival Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister whose Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is the main opposition party in the country, has been released from years of house arrest. Her party is likely to win the elections which the interim government will now hold.
The return of Zia to power will be worrisome for India, given her pro-Pakistan attitude as well as of her parry and its potential ally Jamaat-e-Islami. India-Bangladesh ties improved a lot under Hasina who was friendly towards India.
Hasina was in power for 15 consecutive years and maintained excellent relationships with both UPA and NDA governments. Hasina’s departure is a wild card moment for New Delhi, and one that it probably didn’t foresee in the near future.
BNP has already expressed its unhappiness with India hosting the Hasina after she fled Dhaka and arrived here on Monday.
A veteran BNP leader told TOI from Dhaka, “BNP believes Bangladesh and India must have mutual cooperation...Indian govt will have to understand and behave in a manner which follows that spirit. But if you help our enemy then it becomes difficult for that mutual cooperation to be honoured."
The rise of Khaleda Zia
The political rivalry between Zia and Hasina, known as the «battle of begums,» has shaped Bangladesh's political landscape for decades.
Their enmity can be traced back to the assassination of Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, in a 1975 military coup. Several other family members were also killed.
