On poll eve, BNP urges India to respect B’desh’s stance on Hasina
Over 50% centres deemed ‘risky’ | Largest cop deployment, most extensive use of technology in electoral history: EC
Expressing confidence that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will form the next government in Bangladesh, a top party leader said it wants neighbourly relations with India with a focus on early resolution of border issues.
Ahead of the polling for the 13th parliamentary elections on Thursday, BNP National Executive member Zeeba Amina Khan said India must find ways to understand the sentiment of the people of her country on the extradition of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This is the first election since the ouster of Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
Opinion polls have positioned BNP as the frontrunner, with its chief Tarique Rahman, back from 17 years of exile in the UK, leading the charge for forming the next government.
Meanwhile, more than half the polling centres have been identified as “risk-prone” for the general elections, as officials said 90 per cent of them will be under CCTV surveillance, with many policemen deployed in the capital, Dhaka, wearing body cameras. Officials said the EC’s security system was based on risk assessment.
The EC said the elections would witness the largest-ever deployment of law enforcement personnel and the most extensive use of technology in the country’s electoral history.
127 mn eligible voters in a nation of some 170 million people
1,981 candidates contestingparliamentary seats nationwide
500 foreign observers to be present
Jamaat stresses positive ties with New Delhi
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman on Wednesday said that his party would work to build “strong, respectful and mutually beneficial” relations with India if voted to power.
Statistics
