THE largest democracy's biggest democartic show has ended after nearly a month's phased election. It is creditable indeed to pull off an event which is participated by voters whose number exceeds the total population of many developed countries. But like elections in the subcontinent it was marked by sporadic violence.
An interesting aspect of the election this time has been the focus on an individual rather than the party he represents. It was Modi who subsumed the party, much to the chagrin of many grassroots party supporters. And it was not so much policies but individual's personality and antecedents that were the focus of the political discourse. And as usual, communal politics and the minority card has been used by the major parties.
While Bangladesh has featured very prominently in the utterances of extreme rightwing communal leaders of the BJP including Modi the election has evinced very keen interest in Bangladesh too. Primarily the concern relates to what will happen if Modi becomes the next prime minister. And that is more so because of Modi's record as the Gujarat chief minister when he presided over Muslim pogrom in 2002 and his stance on the so-called illegal migration and infiltrators from Bangladesh.
We in Bangladesh should welcome whichever party is chosen by the people of India. But a change at the helm in Delhi does not necessarily mean a reorientation of its foreign policy. It is recognised by all those who matter in India that it is in India's interest to have good relationship with Bangladesh. And it is for Bangladesh government to pursue the unresolved issues, with more firmness than it has done so far, with Delhi, whosoever is at the helm.