New B'desh PM may lift ban on Awami League, says ex-envoy Veena Sikri

Ex-Indian envoy Veena Sikri suggested the new Bangladesh PM might lift the ban on the Awami League, congratulating the BNP on its win. But Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina rejected the poll results, alleging widespread fraud and manipulation.

Ex-Envoy on BNP's Victory and Future Steps

Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said that, as the elections are over, maybe the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh could lift the ban on the Awami League. Sikri, in a conversation with ANI, said that although the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's alliance and Jamaat-e-Islami's alliance were neck to neck, the former performed better.

She said, "Now that the results are out, one of the first things maybe the new Prime Minister will think about is to lift the ban on the participation of the Awami League. Over time, the Jamaat-e-Islami had worked very hard to consolidate its vote, had organised itself, and had really come to a situation where the BNP alliance and the Jamaat-e-Islami alliance were neck to neck. We have to congratulate the BNP, I think that it demands everybody's congratulations for pulling off this great two-thirds majority."

Sheikh Hasina Alleges 'Disgraceful' Election Fraud

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has formally challenged the legitimacy of the February 12 elections, characterising the event as a "disgraceful chapter" for the nation's democracy. In a statement addressing the conduct of the polls, the former Prime Minister alleged widespread administrative manipulation and numerical fraud, asserting that the reported figures did not reflect the reality of public participation. Sheikh Hasina highlighted a significant disconnect between the quiet polling stations and the final statistics provided by the Election Commission. "Voters were absent at the polling stations; yet votes appeared on the counting tables!" the statement read. The Awami League leader pointed to "highly inconsistent and unrealistic patterns" in the data, noting that while only 14.96 per cent of votes were cast by 11:00 a.m., the figure surged to 32.88 per cent by noon. The statement argued that this sharp increase implied a rate of approximately 381,339 votes per minute across the country.

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