In Bangladesh– India relations, the focus was West Bengal until now. The first bus-service was between Dhaka-Kolkata. Talks are underway for the sharing of the water of the Teesta and last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in West Bengal inaugurated Bangladesh Bhaban.
However, international relations experts in Delhi feel that instead of West Bengal, the focus of Indo-Bangla relations is now shifting towards Tripura.
This has a historical background. At a press conference in Dhaka on Oct 9, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said: “In 1971, persecuted people from Bangladesh, then East Pakistan, took refuge in Tripura to escape the atrocities unleashed by invading Pakistani forces.”
The Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplob Kumar Dev, said: “Led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, both the countries will reach the apex of bilateral development; Tripura will benefit the most from the bilateral talks and I thank both on behalf of 3.7 million people in Tripura.”
Specialists, feel relations between Bangladesh, the northeastern Indian state, Tripura, have reached a new high, and the benefits of the LPG export, the usage of Chattogram ports etc are going to favour Tripura.
Sheikh Hasina met the chief minister of Tripura on Oct 3, in Delhi, and at the dinner organized by the Bangladesh high commission, had a long conversation on bi-lateral issues.
During talks with Dev, the prime minister discussed A Dhaka-Agartola direct flight and Bangladesh agreed to give water to Tripura from the Feni River.
The bulk Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is being exported to Tripura, would help cooking in northeast India.
Professor of South Asian Studies, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sanjay Vardwaj, said: “Through healthy relations with Tripura, a message is being sent to West Bengal to show how there can be good ties between neighbors.”
Veteran political analyst Neerja Chowdhury added: “The effort to strengthen relations with Tripura began after the BJP came to power in India although there is some uneasiness over the National Register of Citizens, NRC.”
For its regressive stand on foreign policies, Trinamool Congress in West Bengal was not getting support from the Congress but if BJP won power in 2021 the picture could change, added Neerja.