Exiled Awami League Leaders Plan Political Comeback from India

Exiled Awami League members are reportedly plotting a political return from India as Bangladesh approaches its first national election since Sheikh Hasina’s government was toppled by mass protests.

Senior party leaders now living in Kolkata see Hasina’s return as possible, even though the party has been suspended, barred from contesting the February 12 election, and its leadership faces serious criminal charges at home.

Awami League leaders are listed as fugitives accused of crimes including murder, sedition, embezzlement, and crimes against humanity. Yet reports indicate that in Kolkata’s malls and food courts, party figures meet openly to discuss strategy over coffee and plan a political revival.

More than 16 months ago, protests against Hasina’s rule forced her to flee by helicopter to India, as demonstrators advanced on her residence. The regime’s final crackdown on protesters during the July Uprising left as many as 1,400 dead, according to UN estimates.

Thousands of party activists reportedly fled amid mob violence and criminal cases, with over 600 taking shelter in Kolkata near the Bangladesh border. Former ministers and party figures have used the city as a base to organise and communicate with their cadre.

While the interim government suspended the party last May, banning its activities and preventing it from contesting the polls, party officials remain defiant. Late last year, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death by hanging for crimes against humanity committed during the final phase of her regime.

Far from conceding defeat, Hasina has dismissed the verdict as “false” and has been mobilising her supporters from India, including efforts to disrupt the upcoming election. From a guarded hideout in Delhi, she spends long hours in meetings and calls with party figures in Bangladesh, despite extradition requests from Dhaka.

Senior leaders, including former MPs and ministers, have travelled from Kolkata to Delhi to discuss strategy. Saddam Hussain, president of the Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, said, “Our leader Sheikh Hasina is in constant communication with our people in Bangladesh. She is preparing the party for the upcoming struggle.”

The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has labelled the student wing a “terrorist organisation.” Hussain faces charges of sedition and crimes against humanity, which he denies.

“She [Hasina] spends 15–16 hours a day in calls and meetings,” Hussain added. “She is hopeful she will return to Bangladesh, and we believe she will come back as a hero.”

Critics inside Bangladesh have greeted the party’s new rhetoric on democracy and human rights with scepticism after years of documented abuses under Hasina’s rule, including enforced disappearances, torture, secret detention centres, and erosion of press freedom and judicial independence.

Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have reportedly “cooled” due to India allowing the activities of a suspended party on its soil and sheltering wanted figures. Despite this, Awami League officials in Kolkata said they “do not fear” deportation.

The party’s comeback strategy appears to hinge on the February election failing to deliver stability, which they believe could swing voters back in their favour. Some exiled leaders have acknowledged past mistakes but remain determined to return.