The Hasina Juggernaut

The Bangladesh Prime Minister, Who Enjoys India's Backing, Looks All Set For A Fourth Consecutive Term, But Her Post-election Challenges Are Formidable. A Crisis Of Democratic Legitimacy, An Ailing Economy And The Threat Of American Interference Could Test Her Best-laid Plans

- MANDIRA NAYAR

The deck of the Padma bridge is as smooth as the perfect rasgullas from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s constituency, Gopalganj. The 6.15km bridge, which connects the 21 districts of the country’s southwest with Dhaka via road and rail, is the shiny future that Bangladesh wants. Below the bridge, quiet flows the Padma—silver, sprawling and statuesque. The sky is a soft December grey, and the bridge, a sweep of steel across the wide river, stands proudly as proof of Hasina’s ability to pull off the impossible. It was her dream project, and she did not flinch even when the World Bank withdrew funding from the $4 billion project, alleging corruption. The charges were never proven. The bridge which was inaugurated in 2022 has become a symbol of Bangladesh’s self-sufficiency and resilience, and, of course, brand Hasina.

The narrative of Hasina trumping the west has become quite a leitmotif in the legend being built around her. She has emerged stronger, silencing critics at home and in the west.

Unsurprisingly, the January 7 parliamentary elections will pit Hasina, 76, once again against the west. The results seem to be a foregone conclusion even before the first votes are cast: Hasina and her Awami League party are almost certain to land a fourth consecutive term. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), headed by arch-rival Begum Khaleda Zia, is skipping the polls, alleging that the entire electoral process is neither free nor fair. Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who is facing corruption charges, is in London. If he returns, he faces jail time.