Congress congratulates Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina on poll victory

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge congratulated the Awami League and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday for her victory in the just-concluded general election in the neighbouring country.

In a message put out on X, Kharge said India and Bangladesh are linked civilisationally, culturally and socio-economically, and the ties of the two countries are bonded by the fight for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

”On the behalf of Indian National Congress, I congratulate the Awami League and Bangladesh Prime Minister, HE Smt. Sheikh Hasina for their resounding victory in the recently concluded general elections,” he said on the microblogging platform.

”Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and our leader Smt. Indira Gandhi laid the foundation of our deep-rooted and indestructible bilateral ties which reflect an all-encompassing partnership based on sovereignty, equality, trust, and understanding that goes far beyond strategic partnership.

”We hope that the shared values of democracy between the two countries and our parties continue to strengthen the everlasting bonds among our people,” Kharge said.

Hasina has secured a record fourth straight term as the prime minister of Bangladesh as her Awami League party won an overwhelming majority in the general election marred by sporadic violence and a boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies.

Hasina’s party won 223 seats in the 300-seat Parliament. Election was held for 299 seats. Polling for one seat will be held later due to the death of a candidate, according to media reports.

The main opposition in Parliament, the Jatiya Party, got 11 seats, the Bangladesh Kalyan party won in one constituency while independent candidates came out victorious in 62 seats. The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and the Workers Party of Bangladesh won a seat each.

Hasina (76), who is also the president of the Awami League, won the election from the Gopalganj-3 constituency in a landslide victory, securing her eighth term as a member of Parliament.

Hasina, who has been ruling the strategically-located South Asian nation since 2009, secured a record fourth consecutive term and fifth overall term in the one-sided election, which witnessed the second-lowest voter turnout (41.8 per cent) since the restoration of democracy in the country in 1991.

The turnout in the controversial February 1996 polls was 26.5 per cent, the lowest in the history of Bangladesh.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)