Bangladesh elections: Why India matters across the border

As Bangladesh gets ready to hold general elections on 7 January, the role of its giant neighbour India is being intensely discussed in the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seeking a fourth consecutive term and her win looks inevitable as the main opposition parties are boycotting the election.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies say they have no faith that Ms Hasina will hold a free and fair election. They asked her to step down and allow the polls to be held under a neutral interim government - demands she rejected.

The Muslim-majority nation of about 170 million people, Bangladesh is almost surrounded on three sides - barring a 271km (168-mile)-long border with Myanmar in the southeast - by India.

For India, Bangladesh is not just a neighbouring country. It's a strategic partner and a close ally, crucial to the security of its north-eastern states.

So, Indian policy makers argue that Delhi needs a friendly regime in Dhaka. Ms Hasina has forged close ties with India since she was first elected in 1996 and it's no secret that Delhi wants to see her return to power.

Ms Hasina has always justified Dhaka's close relationship with Delhi. During a visit to India in 2022, she said Bangladesh should not forget India, its government, people and armed forces as they stood beside the country during the independence war in 1971.

This backing for her Awami League party has triggered sharp criticism from the opposition BNP.

"India should support the people of Bangladesh and not a particular party. Unfortunately, Indian policy makers don't want democracy in Bangladesh," Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior BNP leader told the BBC.

Mr Rizvi said Delhi was "alienating the people of Bangladesh" by openly rooting for Ms