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Tarique Rahman's BNP Congratulates BJP On Bengal Win With A 'Teesta' Request
Bangladesh's BNP sent a congratulatory message to the BJP over the West Bengal election victory, pairing it with a request to re-examine the Teesta water-sharing agreement. The BNP official cited potential improvements in ties and the West Bengal government's stance as a path to progress on Teesta, while recalling unresolved historical disputes and past attempts to resolve them.
Why It Matters
The message links electoral developments in India with cross-border water-sharing negotiations, signaling how political shifts in West Bengal could influence India-Bangladesh hydropolitics and bilateral ties.
Timeline
3 Events
May 6, 2026: BNP Congratulates BJP On Bengal Win With Teesta Request
May 6, 2026
Azizul Baree Helal, BNP Information Secretary, told ANI that the BNP sent a congratulatory message to the BJP from Dhaka following West Bengal's election victory and used the occasion to urge a re-examination of the Teesta water-sharing agreement. He argued Mamata Banerjee had previously impeded the Teesta Barrage, and that BJP's victory under Suvendu's leadership could help progress the agreement, signaling improved India-Bangladesh relations and potential acceleration of Teesta negotiations under the new West Bengal government. He emphasized that national interests can prevail over ideological differences and that the Teesta Barrage project could be implemented under the BJP government rather than the Trinamool Congress.
2011 Teesta agreement attempt during Manmohan Singh visit
2011
In 2011, an attempt to resolve the Teesta dispute occurred when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh. The proposed agreement aimed to allocate 37.5 percent of Teesta's waters to Bangladesh and 42.5 percent to India, but West Bengal opposed it.
Ad-hoc Teesta water-sharing agreement (1983) reached
1983
An ad-hoc Teesta water-sharing agreement was reached in 1983, allocating 36 percent of Teesta's water to Bangladesh and 39 percent to India, leaving 25 percent to be decided later.