Donald Trump of the Republican Party is going to become the 47th President of America. Trump is receiving congratulations from all over the world on this victory.
Trump’s return to the presidency has increased uneasiness in some countries, while some countries seem happy. Bangladesh is also a country in this list.
In August this year, Sheikh Hasina had to leave the country after resigning from the post of Prime Minister.
After the violent movement, an interim government was formed in Bangladesh and Nobel Prize-winning economist Mohammad Yunus was appointed as the chief advisor of this government.
In a way, he is the head of this government. Mohammad Yunus is considered special to the Democrats-Biden administration.
It is believed that the Biden administration and the Democrats have played an important role in bringing him to this role.
In such a situation, the biggest question is what effect will the change of power in America have on the politics of Bangladesh? Will Bangladesh get the same support during Trump’s tenure as it was getting earlier?
Will Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina be able to regain her lost political ground? And in which direction will India-Bangladesh relations go in the end?
What did Sheikh Hasina say about Trump’s victory?
After Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, Sheikh Hasina has congratulated him from the official x handle of Awami League.
A picture of Sheikh Hasina with Donald Trump has also been posted in this post.
While congratulating, it has been said, “Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina congratulated Donald Trump on being elected as the 47th President of the United States.”
“She said that Trump’s spectacular electoral victory is proof of his leadership and the trust the American people have in him.”
The statement said that Sheikh Hasina, as Prime Minister, has very happily recalled the meetings and conversations that she had with Donald Trump and Melania Trump while he was the President.
Sheikh Hasina said that she hopes that the friendly and bilateral relations between Bangladesh and America will be strengthened further in Trump’s second term.
She has expressed her commitment to work together again to advance the bilateral and multilateral interests of both countries.
Along with this, she also wished good health and long life to the newly elected President and his family.
Will the difficulties increase with Trump’s arrival?
In the year 2016, Donald Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election.
The head of the interim government in Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus, while expressing grief, had said at that time that Trump’s victory is like a solar eclipse and dark days.
He said that the 2016 election has been a victim of the wrong kind of politics. He advised Trump that he needs to build bridges instead of walls and adopt a more liberal approach.
Sanjay Bhardwaj, Professor of South Asian Studies at Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that Mohammad Yunus is close to the Democrats in America.
He says, “When there was a change of power in Bangladesh and Mohammad Yunus was made the chief advisor of the interim government, at that time he was working closely with the Democrats, Biden administration, and Hillary Clinton. America has an important role in bringing him to this role.”
After coming into this new role, Yunus’s visit to America was also much discussed. On September 25, he participated in the ‘Clinton Global Initiative’ program.
Former US President Bill Clinton was also present in this program.
Bhardwaj says, “Since now there has been a change of power in America. Republicans will be in power instead of Democrats. In such a situation, the biggest question is whether Trump will continue the policies that were in place during the Biden administration or will make some changes to them.
He says, “Earlier America used to see South Asia as a unit keeping in mind India’s perspective, but the Joe Biden administration saw Bangladesh as an independent unit. The result of this was that the government changed in Bangladesh.” Bhardwaj says, “Questions have been raised about human rights and elections in Bangladesh earlier also, but during Biden’s time there was more strictness regarding these and he did not have good relations with Sheikh Hasina either.” What are people thinking in Bangladesh
Kadil Kallol, political editor of the Bengali language daily newspaper Prothom Alo in Bangladesh, says that there is no doubt that US-Bangladesh relations were not tense during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina and Donald Trump.
In a conversation with the BBC, he says that despite this, many people raised questions about the electoral process in Bangladesh at that time, but nothing was officially said by the Trump administration except an appeal to conduct free and fair elections.
Kallol says that trade and dialogue continued between the two countries.
He says that we should also remember that recently Mohammad Yunus went to America and met Joe Biden. He was given a lot of respect.
After seeing all these developments, everyone is curious about what is going to happen next.
In a conversation with the BBC, Barshon Kabir, a senior TV journalist of NTV Bangladesh, says that Donald Trump has a different approach towards this subcontinent because he is very close to Narendra Modi.
He says, “When it was known that Trump is coming back to power, the people of Bangladesh had mixed feelings about it, but the current government led by Yunus has very good relations with America because Yunus has personal relations with the Clinton family. This has been said by his press secretary.” Barshon Kabir says, “India and Bangladesh are historically good neighbors. Therefore, Trump becoming the President will have a positive impact on the lives of common people and this is what we are all hoping.” He says, “It is certain that there is no worrying situation here in Bangladesh, but yes everyone will be eagerly waiting for the next few months to see how things move forward from here.” Kabir says, “In the end, America’s foreign policy remains the same. Therefore, it can be expected that Trump becoming the President will not cause any major harm to India-Bangladesh relations, but who knows what the Awami League is thinking right now.”
Trump’s Statement on Bangladeshi Hindus
Trump had posted a statement about Bangladeshi Hindus and PM Narendra Modi in his Diwali message, which started a debate on social media.
He wrote, “I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh. The mob is attacking them, looting, which is a state of complete anarchy.”
Trump said, “This would never have happened during my tenure. Kamala and Joe Biden have ignored Hindus all over the world, including America. They have wreaked havoc from Israel to Ukraine and our southern border, but we will make America strong again and bring back peace through strength.”
He wrote, “We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religious agenda of the radical leftists. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our partnership with India and my good friend Prime Minister Modi.”
Trump is the first big politician in America who spoke for the first time on the atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. Despite her Hindu roots, Kamala Harris maintained her silence on this matter.
At that time, defense expert Brahma Chellaney had written that if Trump wins, then Yunus’ open game at Biden’s instigation may come to an end.
Research Fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, Smriti S Patnaik also says the same thing. In a conversation with the BBC, she says that the statement Trump made about Hindus on Diwali was taken as a criticism of the interim government of Bangladesh and anyway, Yunus’s relations with Trump are not good.
However, some experts also linked it to the elections and claimed that Trump is making such statements to woo Hindu and Indian voters in the elections.
At the same time, Sanjay Bhardwaj says, “The biggest question is how much security will America be able to provide to Bangladesh under Trump’s leadership because the Bangladesh government cannot run without America.”
Can Sheikh Hasina return?
Bangladesh is currently going through an unstable political situation. After Sheikh Hasina left power, an interim government was running there.
Sanjay Bhardwaj says, “Democracy has not been restored in Bangladesh yet. No one knows when the new government will be formed.”
The question is, when will elections be held in Bangladesh to elect a new government?
Last month, Dr. Asif Nazrul, advisor to the interim government, hinted about the elections in his statement.
He said that elections could be held within the next year, but for this, reforms in the direction of elections and political agreements are necessary.
Nazrul said that right now the Election Commission will be formed in the country and the voter list will be prepared if this work is completed, then elections can be held by next year.
He said that the right to declare elections in the country lies with the chief advisor of the interim government, Mohammad Yunus.
Smriti S Patnaik says that in such a situation, the pressure on Yunus will increase because Trump will not give him much time compared to Biden.
She says, “Trump will ask Mohammad Yunus to hold elections in Bangladesh as soon as possible and secondly, the possibility of Awami League participating in the elections has increased now.” Patnaik says that Sheikh Hasina’s party will be helped to regain its lost political ground. Sanjay Bhardwaj says, “Awami League will come back to Bangladesh, whether under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina or without her.” He says, “Although many liberal democratic people in the Awami League do not like Sheikh Hasina, the Awami people are hopeful that they will get the political space they are seeking in Bangladesh.”
