Sheikh Hasina's Awami League leaders huddle ahead of Bangladesh polls, open office in India's Kolkata: Report
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Sheikh Hasina's Awami League leaders huddle ahead of Bangladesh polls, open office in India's Kolkata: Report")
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina Photograph: (ANI)
There are no signboards or portraits of Sheikh Hasina or Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inside or outside the building that showcase an Awami League office inside.
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee her country and take shelter in India after her government was toppled last year in a student-led protest is reportedly setting up a "party office" in India's Kolkata. The senior and mid-level leaders of the Awami League - Sheikh Hasina's party - and its affiliated organisations have been frequenting the office.
The leaders are believed to have come to India after Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024 after the uprising that claimed several lives and changed the political landscape of the country.
Renowned economist and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was chosen to head the interim government. However, Bangladesh poll body has announced national elections to be held before Ramadan in February 2026.
According to BBC Bangla, Hasina lives close to the capital Delhi, while senior Awami League leaders including former ministers, have chosen Kolkata as their dwelling place
Initially, all informal gathering of the party were being held at the residences in Kolkata, while larger meetings were held in restaurants or rented banquet halls.
But with an office space of 500–600 sq ft allocated for the party, all future meetings are likely to be held here now.
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According to the report, there are no signboards or portraits of Sheikh Hasina or Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inside or outside the building that showcase an Awami League office inside.
"There are no typical party office files here. We needed a discreet space for regular meetings, and this commercial office fit the bill. The furniture was left behind by the previous tenants," one AL leader told BBC Bangla.
According to the report, the opening of the office is in the knowledge of the Indian intelligence agencies as it would not have been possible without the approval from India's Ministry of Home Affairs.
Sheikh Hasina has been charged her with crimes against humanity, including charges of order, incitement, complicity, conspiracy, and abetment of murder, torture and other inhuman acts by Bangladeshi prosecutors.
The trial is being held before three judges of Bangladesh’s international crimes tribunal (ICT); a court that Hasina set up herself while she was the prime minister of the country.
