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Published : 09 May 2026, 07:54 PM
Hours after assuming office, West Bengal's new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has been greeted by former Bangladesh prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, reports NDTV.
In a statement on Saturday, Hasina said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s landslide victory in the state election was driven by its people’s deep trust and Suvendu’s people-centric leadership.
Hasina has been in exile in India since her ouster on Aug 5, 2024 following days of student-led protests.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Nov 17 last year convicted and sentenced ousted her and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity during the July Uprising.
Ten days later, a Dhaka court jailed her for 21 years in over an alleged housing scam in Purbachal.
Additionally, the former premier faces multiple cases including over alleged murders during the 2024 protests.
The ICT in December of that year banned the dissemination of her "hate speeches".
The interim government on Aug 22, 2025 issued a strong warning regarding the broadcasting of statements by Hasina.
"I extend my heartfelt congratulations and warmest wishes to Shri Suvendu Adhikari on behalf of myself personally and the people of Bangladesh for the landslide victory of the BJP in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections and for assuming office as the chief minister of West Bengal," the statement quotes her as saying.
"As neighbours, we have always wished for the prosperity and peace of West Bengal. I hope that the longstanding tradition of cooperation between us will become even stronger during Shri Suvendu Adhikari's tenure, and that we will continue to work together for the shared development and welfare of the people of both Bengals," it adds.
Earlier in the day, Suvendu was sworn in as the head of the West Bengal state government, marking a decisive political shift in a state long defined by ideological churn.
The BJP bagged its first-ever victory in the state assembly election, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.
The Hindu nationalist party secured 207 seats in the 294-member assembly.
During the interim rule, Suvendu extended his support for Hasina and the Awami League.
He harshly criticised the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus at different times.
In December 2024, at an event in North Parganas, West Bengal, the BJP leader said: “Sheikh Hasina is the ‘legitimate’ prime minister of Bangladesh. The interim government is ‘illegitimate’.
“Sheikh Hasina will land at Shahjalal International Airport as the prime minister and she will have to be saluted.”
