NEW DELHI, FEB 8: Bangladesh’s elections next week could reshape South Asia’s balance of power, as Beijing seeks to consolidate influence and ties with India falter, analysts say.
The February 12 poll will be the nation’s first since a student-led uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic regime in August 2024.
India’s sheltering of Hasina — despite extradition requests — has angered Dhaka’s interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has deepened engagement with China and Pakistan.
The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people maintained strong trade and defence ties with China under Hasina, but New Delhi was Dhaka’s pre-eminent partner, an arrangement that analysts say is shifting.
