Bangladesh Nationalist Party has welcomed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in West Bengal and expressed hope that the political change could finally unlock progress on the long-stalled Teesta water-sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh. At the same time, the BNP strongly criticised former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her All India Trinamool Congress government, accusing them of repeatedly obstructing the deal for political and regional reasons.
Speaking to ANI, BNP Information Secretary Azizul Baree Helal congratulated the BJP leadership in Bengal and particularly praised Suvendu Adhikari, describing the election outcome as potentially beneficial for both Bangladesh-West Bengal relations and broader India-Bangladesh cooperation.
Helal said the BJP’s rise to power in Bengal could improve coordination between the state government and the administration of Narendra Modi at the Centre, something he claimed had been missing under the Trinamool Congress government. According to him, that alignment may now create favourable conditions for advancing the long-delayed Teesta Barrage and water-sharing agreement, which has remained one of the most sensitive unresolved bilateral issues between the two neighbouring countries.
“Previously, we saw that Mamata Banerjee was actually the impediment to establishing the Teesta Barrage,” Helal said while arguing that the BJP government in Bengal under Adhikari’s leadership could now cooperate more closely with New Delhi and Dhaka.
He further claimed that both the Bangladesh government and the Modi government had long desired the implementation of the Teesta project, but political opposition from the West Bengal government had consistently prevented progress. Helal expressed confidence that the political transition in Kolkata could now accelerate movement on the issue.
The Teesta River dispute has remained a major sticking point in India-Bangladesh relations for decades. The river flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh, where it plays a crucial role in irrigation, agriculture and water supply across northern districts. Bangladesh has repeatedly argued that inadequate water flow during dry months severely affects farming, livelihoods and regional water security.
While India and Bangladesh successfully signed the Ganga Water Treaty in 1996, governing dry-season water sharing through the Farakka Barrage, no permanent agreement has yet been finalised on the Teesta despite years of negotiations.
A major breakthrough had appeared close during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in 2011. At the time, negotiators proposed a framework under which Bangladesh would receive 37.5 per cent of Teesta waters while India would retain 42.5 per cent, with the remaining share allocated for environmental flow and technical adjustments. However, the deal collapsed after strong objections from Mamata Banerjee’s government, which argued that reduced water availability would hurt farmers and agriculture in northern West Bengal.
Helal directly referenced that episode while blaming the previous Bengal administration for delaying what he described as a mutually beneficial agreement desired by both national governments.
Bangladesh has also become increasingly concerned because the existing 1996 Ganga treaty is scheduled to expire later this year, renewing pressure for broader negotiations over river-sharing mechanisms between the two countries. Climate change, irregular monsoon patterns and declining water availability have added urgency to the discussions, particularly in northern Bangladesh, where dependence on Teesta waters remains extremely high.
The Teesta issue has long carried both political and emotional significance in Bangladesh, where many view the agreement as a test of India’s willingness to address concerns of smaller neighbours fairly. At the same time, water-sharing remains politically sensitive inside India because several states argue they cannot sacrifice their own agricultural requirements.
India and Bangladesh share 54 transboundary rivers, yet only two major water-sharing agreements currently exist — the Ganga Waters Treaty and the more recent Kushiyara River Treaty. Negotiations over several other rivers, including the Teesta and Feni, remain unresolved.
Helal also emphasised that despite ideological differences between the BNP and the BJP, both sides appear aligned on strengthening India-Bangladesh relations and finding practical solutions to cross-border issues such as water management and regional cooperation.
According to him, the BJP’s victory in Bengal under Adhikari’s leadership could strengthen ties between Dhaka and Kolkata because West Bengal shares Bangladesh’s longest international border among Indian states and plays a central role in trade, connectivity, migration and water-sharing matters between the two countries.
The remarks are politically significant because relations between Bangladesh’s political parties and the Indian government have often differed sharply depending on leadership and regional dynamics. While the BNP historically maintained a more complicated relationship with New Delhi compared to rival Bangladeshi parties, Helal’s comments suggest the party may now be attempting to project a more cooperative tone toward India under changing political circumstances in West Bengal.
Whether the political change in Bengal actually leads to movement on the Teesta agreement, however, remains uncertain. The issue continues to involve complex technical negotiations, regional water calculations, domestic political pressures and competing agricultural demands on both sides of the border.
