This analysis delves into the recent Bangladesh election, highlighting China’s and India’s contrasting responses and their broader implications. China, seizing a growing role, views the election as a step forward in Bangladesh’s democratic journey, while India labels it a strictly internal matter. The piece explores how these stances reveal shifting priorities in South Asia, with China gaining strategic influence in Bangladesh, including in critical projects near India’s borders. As Bangladesh balances between these powerful neighbors, the election’s impact on regional security and economic stability comes sharply into focus.

THE facts about the January 7 political event that the Election Commission is calling the 12th general election are getting, as the cliché goes, stranger than fiction. Even fiction writers will find that they are not in the same league as the commission and the ruling party that are co-authoring the tale of the next general election with less than two weeks left for the event.

Bangladesh’s foreign policy since the January 2014 elections has taken a bold shift towards China, raising concerns in India and among Western allies. With strategic projects like the Sonadia deep-sea port and defence deals in play, the evolving dynamics signal a geopolitical recalibration that policymakers cannot ignore.