Sheikh Hasina, Awami League congratulate Suvendu Adhikari

Deposed Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has congratulated the new Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari. In a message issued via Awami League officials, Ms. Hasina said on Saturday (May 9, 2026) that Bangladesh always wished for prosperity and peace in West Bengal under the leadership of Mr. Adhikari.

The Awami League is banned in Bangladesh.

“The verdict of the people of West Bengal is a clear reflection of their deep trust and admiration for Shri Suvendu Adhikari’s strong and people-oriented leadership. West Bengal holds a unique place in the history of the sincere friendship between Bangladesh and India,” Ms. Hasina said in a statement.

The Bangladesh Awami League, in a separate statement, also expressed support for Mr. Adhikari. “Given the shared history, language, and cultural ties between Bangladesh and West Bengal, the party expressed firm belief that this new chapter will elevate those relations to greater heights,” it said.

The Awami League, which ruled Bangladesh for nearly 15 years, was banned during the interim government following a crackdown on civilians in the last phase of Ms. Hasina’s rule in July-August 2024. Earlier, in April, the new government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) formalised the ban by passing a resolution in the Bangladesh Parliament on April 8.

Mr. Adhikari had supported Ms. Hasina in November 2025 when the latter was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka for her role in the 2024 crackdown. In comments shared with the news agency ANI, Mr. Adhikari had opposed the death sentence. “This has been done on Pakistan’s orders. It will not be implemented. Sheikh Hasina may be from another country but she is linked with the culture of the Bengalis. She is a progressive Muslim. Sheikh Hasina was not associated with extremists,” he had said.

Relations between Ms. Hasina and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was defeated in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly election, have featured in bilateral talks in the past. While Ms. Banerjee supported India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement’s conclusion in June 2015, she did not openly support the Teesta waters treaty that Ms. Hasina had sought at least since 2011.

With Ms. Banerjee’s exit after the latest election, there are expectations in sections within Bangladesh’s BNP Government that the water sharing agreements, especially the agreement on Teesta, will find Centre-State support on the Indian side. The two sides are also expected to renew the Ganga Waters Treaty by December 2026.