Bangladesh polls: Khaleda Zia's BNP heads for big win, Jamaat lags

DHAKA: Tarique Rahman-led BNP was cruising to the halfway people of 150 - winning 120 of the 300 parliamentary seats and starring successful 55 much - leaving down its rival and Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, connected Thursday, arsenic counting was nether mode aft Bangladeshis voted successful the archetypal nationalist predetermination since the 2024 'July Uprising' ousted long-time PM Sheikh Hasina.

The turnout, however, was conscionable 47%. By midnight, it had taken an unassailable pb implicit the hardline anti-India Jamaat and its allies - trailing with 38 seats - successful the contention to elite a caller govt to regenerate the Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt. Yunus took complaint aft the illness of the Hasina-led Awami League dispensation - a enactment banned from contesting the canvass and its symbol, the boat, missing from ballot papers for the archetypal clip successful 30 years. BNP president Rahman, who has won from some constituencies helium contested - Bogra and Dhaka-17 - would apt instrumentality implicit arsenic the adjacent PM: an result that India tin unrecorded with. BNP, which was distinguished by its unfriendly presumption towards India due to the fact that of its arch-rival Awami League's affable disposition towards New Delhi, however, has mellowed down hostility. India opened a transmission with BNP with the beingness of overseas curate S Jaishankar astatine the ceremonial of erstwhile PM Khaleda Zia past twelvemonth successful Dhaka.