Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri interacted with a group of journalists from Bangladesh on October 6, 2025. Picture: X/@MEAIndia
NEW DELHIBangladesh should hold the next general election “without delay” and that India is in favour of “free, fair, inclusive and participatory” election in the country, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday (October 6, 2025).Speaking to a group of visiting journalists from Bangladesh, Mr. Misri described the February 2026 election in Bangladesh as a “globally” important event and said India will engage with “any government” that is chosen by the people of Bangladesh. He added that the election will have to acquire both “domestic” and “external” legitimacy.“I want to be very very clear in this one matter – if there is any doubt in anybody’s mind – that India is firmly in favour of free, fair, inclusive and participatory elections in Bangladesh and it is in favour of these elections being held at the earliest possible,” said Mr. Misri.Also Read | Yunus announces election in April 2026, says ‘Bangladesh is in a state of war’The election in Bangladesh was announced earlier this year, and Chief Adviser of the interim government of Muhammad Yunus reiterated on multiple occasions that the election would be held in February.However, there have been questions about how inclusive would the election be as the Awami League, the party that governed Bangladesh between 2009 and 2024 remains banned, with its leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina staying in India. Bangladesh has been demanding the extradition of Ms. Hasina to face trial in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for the killing of protesters in July-August 2024 when Ms. Hasina faced a student-led uprising that overthrew her government.Apart from the ban on the Awami League, there are also demands from the leading student advisers in Dhaka to ban certain other political outfits, including the Jatiyo Party of the late President Hossein Mohammed Ershad.Also Read | Sheikh Hasina completes a year in exile in India as Bangladesh plans election in 2026Responding to a question, Mr. Misri said the election in Bangladesh will have to have “internal legitimacy”, and cautioned that the polls will also have to acquire “external legitimacy”.“Issues of free, fair, inclusive, and participatory elections are features that lend legitimacy to this process. At the end of the day, it is for the people of Bangladesh to decide how these elections will be structured and how they will play out because these are not decisions that will remain here and now,” said Mr. Misri.He referred to the presence of Ms. Hasina in India as a “judicial and legal process” that requires “engagement and consultations” between Dhaka and New Delhi. “We are examining this issue and we look forward to working together with the Bangladesh authorities on this issue.”The ICT indicted Ms. Hasina for the July-August 2024 killings on June 1, 2025. During the interaction with the visiting media delegation Dhaka, a question was asked to Mr. Misri about Bangladesh interim government’s recent outreach to Pakistan, but Mr. Misri refused to delve into the issue, saying, he would not like to get into “Bangladesh’s relation with a third country.”Mr. Misri visited Dhaka on December 9, 2024 when he became the first Indian official to visit Bangladesh after the interim government took charge following the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, 2024. Published - October 06, 2025 10:44 pm IST
