Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on Tuesday, 14 July recalled two significant meetings with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, revealing that he had pressed her on the importance of maintaining a credible and independent Election Commission — and that she had appeared 'visibly strained' and suspicious of foreign interference by their final encounter.

How the 2014 Meeting Came About

Quraishi, who had retired from the post of Chief Election Commissioner nearly two years before the meeting, was travelling to Bangladesh for a lecture engagement in 2014 when the then High Commissioner of Bangladesh in India urged him to convey a pointed message to Hasina. 'Sir, if you are meeting Sheikh Hasina, please tell her the importance of the Election Commission and its credibility,' Quraishi recounted being told, describing the request as 'very important and significant.'

He subsequently sought a courtesy call with the then Prime Minister, which she agreed to readily. Quraishi attended alongside the then Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pankaj Saran. Hasina, for her part, arrived with seven senior advisors — lending the meeting a formal, summit-like character. 'I was just a retired CEC, but India had that image and that reputation that even a retired CEC enjoys a lot of respect and credibility,' Quraishi noted.

What Was Said in the Room

The meeting lasted more than an hour, during which Quraishi laid out why public confidence in election institutions is foundational to democratic governance. He described Hasina as initially 'a bit defensive' but ultimately receptive to the arguments he presented.

The two met again roughly ten years later, shortly before what Quraishi described as Bangladesh's 'recent controversial election.' The contrast was stark. 'She looked a little tired, and then she complained that she suspects that foreign powers are trying to unseat her; they want a change of regime. So, which is exactly what happened,' he said.

The 2023 Observers' Visit

In late 2023, Quraishi visited Bangladesh as the head of an election observers' delegation ahead of the country's general elections. He recounts in his new book that Hasina appeared 'visibly strained' during their interaction. According to the book, 'She spoke bluntly about what she saw as external attempts, particularly by the United States, to engineer regime change.'

The Book Behind the Revelations

Quraishi's account emerges in the context of the release of his latest book, 'India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir', which documents his interactions with foreign leaders and his decades in public service. The Bangladesh chapters offer a rare first-hand Indian perspective on Hasina's political anxieties in the years leading up to her ouster.

The disclosures add a layer of diplomatic texture to an already consequential chapter in South Asian politics, with questions about electoral credibility and external influence in Bangladesh remaining very much alive.