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Published : 08 Sep 2025, 03:31 PM
Former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted in the July Uprising, has reportedly finalised a plan to bring her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul into the party’s top leadership, according to BBC Bangla.
Subhajyoti Ghosh, BBC Bangla’s Delhi correspondent, reported that Hasina intends to follow the “model” of India’s Congress Party, which has placed the next generation of the Gandhi family -- Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi -- in senior party roles.
Hasina has been at the helm of the Awami League for 44 years continuously since the early 1980s. She has never publicly shared her thoughts on succession or who would lead the party in her absence. Nor have other members of her family or senior Awami League leaders spoken on the matter.
After being forced from power by a student-led mass uprising last year, Hasina fled to India and has lived under tight security in a Delhi "safe house" for the past year.
BBC Bangla reported that in this changed reality, Hasina has decided to bring her US-based son Joy and India-based daughter Putul into the Awami League leadership. Putul has already become politically active in Delhi. Hasina’s nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, the son of Sheikh Rehana, is also expected to play a role.
However, Mohammad A Arafat, a member of the Awami League’s central executive committee and a former state minister for information, told BBC Bangla that there has been “no discussion within the party” on such a plan. He said their main goal remained “restoring democracy in the country”.
Hasina is currently facing trial at the International Crimes Tribunal over crimes against humanity during the July Uprising. The interim government has also created a legal framework for trying the Awami League as a party.
Until the trial concludes, all Awami League activities have been banned. The Election Commission has also frozen the party’s registration, leaving it unable to contest elections for the time being.
BBC Bangla’s report noted that Hasina’s succession plan is unfolding against this backdrop.
FAMILY TIES WITH CONGRESS
Political analyst Vinod Sharma told the outlet that while the Awami League’s relationship with India’s ruling BJP had been apparent in recent years, its ties with the Congress Party are much older.
According to him, the Awami League, like the Congress, is a “family-centred” party, so it is not surprising that Hasina would turn to a Congress-style model for succession.
OBSERVERS FLAG LEADERSHIP VACUUM
Many observers believe one of the main reasons the Awami League “collapsed like a house of cards” after Hasina’s ouster was the lack of clarity over who would lead the party’s grassroots in her absence, BBC Bangla reports.
Hasina remains in Delhi under tight Indian government security, with restrictions on her movements and contact with party leaders.
Her daughter Putul is also in Delhi, while her son Joy lives in Virginia. Most of the party’s key leaders are based in Kolkata.
DAY-TO-DAY AFFAIRS FROM EXILE
According to BBC Bangla, the Awami League’s day-to-day activities are now being managed through a triangular arrangement involving Hasina’s children and trusted lieutenants.
Alongside informally bringing Joy and Putul to the forefront, Hasina has reshaped party management.
Although still officially the Awami League’s general secretary, Obaidul Quader has been in India for 10 months without meeting Hasina, according to the report. Instead, she now relies on three leaders currently in Kolkata -- former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former MP AFM Bahauddin Nasim, and Presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
Awami League figures told BBC Bangla they have met Hasina in India, but it is Putul who maintains regular communication and drafts action plans. Meanwhile, Joy is leading a team in the US to build favourable “narratives” and promote Awami League’s message abroad.
JOY, PUTUL TAKE ON GROWING ROLES
Putul was placed on indefinite leave from her role as World Health Organization (WHO) regional director in July, after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases against her. BBC Bangla reported that she is now becoming more politically active.
Being in Delhi, she is able to assist Hasina directly, drafting speeches, planning programmes, and meeting visitors on her mother’s behalf. Party officials said she has already held several meetings in Hasina’s place in recent months.
Joy, based in the US, has given a series of media interviews since Aug 5, 2024, while also speaking on social media about his family’s stance.
Several senior leaders inside and outside India told BBC Bangla they were aware of comparisons to India’s Congress Party, where leadership has passed to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi as Sonia Gandhi steps back.
But former state minister Arafat said, “To be honest, the succession plan you are talking about is not a priority for us. This is not the time to be thinking about who gets what post. Our main goal now is restoring democracy in Bangladesh, and all efforts are directed to that.”
He added that all family members and party activists “are working shoulder to shoulder towards this one goal.”
WHY IS PUTUL ENTERING POLITICS NOW?
Putul had been elected WHO regional director in November 2023, formally taking up the role in February 2024 on a five-year term. But she was placed on leave in July 2024.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the move in an internal email, appointing Catharina Boehme as acting regional director. WHO sources told BBC Bangla she is unlikely to be reinstated unless there is an unexpected shift in the interim government’s stance.
Observers say Putul’s recent political posts on social media suggest she has embraced political activity after being forced from her WHO role.
THE 'RAHUL-PRIYANKA MODEL'
As Sonia Gandhi retreats from frontline politics, her children Rahul and Priyanka have taken over key leadership roles in Congress. Rahul is now the party’s main public face, with Priyanka supporting him closely.
Though she entered politics earlier, Priyanka chose not to contest in the last general election, allowing her brother to remain the focus. She later won a by-election, while Rahul became leader of the opposition in parliament.
BBC Bangla reported that Hasina is believed to be applying this “Rahul-Priyanka model” to the Awami League.
HASINA AND THE GANDHIS
Hasina has long maintained close ties with the Gandhi family. Even during the BJP rule, she met Sonia Gandhi or her children whenever visiting India.
During her state visit in September 2023, she met Rahul Gandhi despite his busy schedule leading the first "Bharat Jodo Yatra".
Veteran analyst Sharma told BBC Bangla that this approach reflects the Awami League’s character, adding that these parties naturally want to bring leadership from within their "first families". No matter how good Hasina’s ties with the BJP may be, the BJP’s model is not one the Awami League can follow, according to him.
