Dhaka, May 15 -- This week's historic BJP win in West Bengal brings a rare political alignment between New Delhi and Kolkata that could boost the connectivity agenda and help repair ties with Bangladesh.

It offers opportunities for the state to emerge as an economic hub tied to Bangladesh, and to uplift the entire East South Asia region through new transportation and energy infrastructure linking Nepal and Bhutan, the northeast region, and the Bay of Bengal.

For years, the West Bengal government remained largely absent as a policy driver to enhance India-Bangladesh economic interdependence. It remained either opposed or uninterested, claiming marginalisation.

After vetoing the Teesta river deal in 2011 and only reluctantly supporting t...