DHAKA: Tarique Rahman-led BNP was cruising to the halfway mark of 150 – winning 120 of the 300 parliamentary seats and leading in 55 more – leaving behind its rival and Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, on Thursday, as counting was under way after Bangladeshis voted in the first national election since the 2024 ‘July Uprising’ ousted long-time PM Sheikh Hasina. The turnout, however, was just 47%. By midnight, it had taken an unassailable lead over the hardline anti-India Jamaat and its allies – trailing with 38 seats – in the contest to elect a new govt to replace the Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt. Yunus took charge after the collapse of the Hasina-led Awami League dispensation – a party banned from contesting the poll and its symbol, the boat, missing from ballot papers for the first time in 30 years. BNP chairman Rahman, who has won from both constituencies he contested – Bogra and Dhaka-17 – would likely take over as the next PM: an outcome that India can live with. BNP, which was distinguished by its unfriendly position towards India because of its arch-rival Awami League’s friendly disposition towards New Delhi, however, has mellowed down hostility. India opened a channel with BNP with the presence of foreign minister S Jaishankar at the funeral of former PM Khaleda Zia last year in Dhaka.
