New Delhi, April 29 -- As the results of the critical elections in India's West Bengal are awaited on May 4, Bangladesh will watch the ensuing political developments closely. Popular domestic narratives on both sides, as well as public opinion and dominant perceptions, can test the progress made in India-Bangladesh ties recently following the swearing-in of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government in February this year.

For the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the West Bengal elections are particularly significant. West Bengal still remains one of the states that the BJP has not conquered. First, the state's ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) exerts considerable influence on the course of national legisl...