We should wait for outcome to see what sort of mandate comes out: MEA on B'desh polls

India on Thursday said it will wait for the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh and the mandate, and then look at issues which are there.

India on Thursday said it will wait for the outcome of the elections in Bangladesh and the mandate, and then look at issues which are there. As the polling was underway in the neighbouring country in the afternoon, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, ''We stand for a free, fair, inclusive and credible elections in Bangladesh.'' The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections in Bangladesh was held along with a referendum on the implementation of a complex 84-point reform package, known as the July National Charter. The counting of votes began after voting concluded at 4:30 pm (local time). At his weekly briefing here, Jaiswal was asked about both Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami in their manifestos mentioning ''robust defence plans'', and if that is a cause for concern for India. ''The election is going on in Bangladesh. We should wait for the outcome of the elections to see as to what sort of mandate has come...and thereafter, we will look at issues that are there. On the election per se, you know what our position has been. We stand for a free, fair, inclusive and credible elections in Bangladesh,'' he said. The MEA spokesperson was also asked if any observers were sent by New Delhi. ''We did receive an invitation for sending observers. We have not sent our observers to Bangladesh,'' he said. The election is being considered a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami, in the absence of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's now disbanded Awami League. ''The first significant results may be available overnight,'' an election commission spokesman said. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' interim government last year disbanded the Awami League and barred it from contesting the polls. Jaiswal also fielded a volley of queries on the status of India's sourcing of oil from Russia amid the current tariff policy of Washington. ''Again on Russian oil, I've said, you know, foreign secretary has made an elaborate statement, please do look at that, that will give you an idea as to what our approach is. I've also spoken from this podium on several occasions and otherwise also on what remains are approach to energy sourcing,'' he said. India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the ''guiding factor'' for the procurement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday amid a swirling controversy over Washington's claim that New Delhi has agreed to stop importing Russian oil. Jaiswal was also asked for a comment on a United Nations sanctions monitoring report mentioning a Pakistan-based terror outfit in the context of the Red Fort blast in Delhi last November. ''This particular report that you refer to, it is available in the public domain. It is online. This was the 37th Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. This was published on February 4, 2026. ''And, we have seen that they have taken onboard our inputs, India's inputs in regard to our concern on cross-border terrorism, and also as to how we can strengthen global fight against terrorism,'' the MEA spokesperson said.

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