The Election Commission has so far announced 'unofficial' results of 295 seats of the 300-seat parliament saying, the Hasina's alliance won 258 seats while her archrival ex-premier Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party grouping won in 31 constituencies.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led grand alliance was clearly leading in early unofficial results of the landmark general elections, as the Awami League chief recorded landslide wins in two of the three constituencies from where she was contesting.
Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina has said she hoped to resolve the Tipaimukh Dam issue with India through talks in co-operation with her arch-rival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is opposed to the cross-border hydro-power project in Manipur.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that there were attempts on her life by mixing poison with her food when she was under detention in a sub-jail during the state of emergency.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-backed candidates on Tuesday overwhelmingly won the mayoral elections as Bangladesh witnessed its first polls under emergency rules ahead of the scheduled general elections set for December this year.
Earlier, two former cabinet ministers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Shamsul Islam were sent to Dhaka Central Jail after they surrendered before the court.
"This farcical election is unacceptable to BNP," Zia told reporters just after midnight and claimed that she had evidence of rampant vote-rigging and that the high figures given by the Election Commission for voter turnout were false
A huge voter turnout of over 80 per cent on Monday marked Bangladesh's first general election in seven years, with Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia appeared locked in a close race to reclaim power. Amid unprecedented security, Bangladeshis gave an overwhelming response to the landmark election, which was largely peaceful, paving the way for the impoverished country's return to democracy following two years of emergency rule.
Bangladesh's 'battling begums' are on a hectic last minute campaign trail, which will end at midnight on Saturday, as the country's goes for its first general elections in seven years on December 29. The elections are being held under unprecedented security measures with nearly 48,000 troops and more than 600,000 policemen deployed to guard the polling booths.
With former prime minister Khaleda Zia in detention over graft charges, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party has made a dramatic change in the top leadership by appointing former finance minister Saifur Rahman as the party's acting chairman.
The private BDnews24 quoted Zia as saying that she was not frightened to go to jail.
Rahman now awaits trial at an ordinary prison ward of Dhaka Central Jail. Legal experts said if convicted he could be imprisoned for five years.
India and Bangladesh are likely to sign three agreements on trade, investment protection and avoidance of double taxation during Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's three-day state visit to India from March 20.
The joint forces also arrested the assistant personal secretary to former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and one of Babar's cousins.
India and Bangladesh have recently agreed to provide consular access to arrested insurgents and criminals on reciprocal basis, besides sharing information about their actvities.
The latest crackdown on senior AL leaders, including its general secretary Abdul Jalil, and Hasina's cousin Sheikh Selim, known to be loyal to her, has dealt her a severe blow.
Zia returned home late last night after a three-day visit to India.
"Nobody will be spared... we have arrested those who were once believed to be above law," Task Force Coordinator Major General Masududdin Chowdhury told newsmen in a separate briefing after talks with Chowdhury.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Friday said she was ready to hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the general elections due in January.
Dozens of workers were working inside the garment factory when it suddenly collapsed with a loud noise in Gazipur district near Dhaka.
Although there is no extradition treaty between the two countries, the Indian government assured that they would inquire into it, and if any terrorists were found, they would take measures to send them back, the Bangladesh premier said.
The two countries also signed trade agreements.
Seeking to give a new dimension to bilateral ties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said "a strong and prosperous" Bangladesh is in the interest of India and the region.
The Tata Group is looking for investments in Bangladesh's steel, power and fertiliser sectors worth $2billion, a media report said in Dhaka on Saturday.
The door is open for any diplomat to verify what the government insists, Bangladeshi officials said.
India-based Apollo Hospitals on Wednesday opened its services in Bangladesh, becoming the first private multi-purpose facility in the country that would pave the way for better treatment of the people.
The plant is expected to go into production by this year-end with 1,000 tractors.
During the talks between Zia and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday, India is likely to seek Dhaka's cooperation in ending terrorism emanating from Bangladesh and illegal immigration.
Zia, elected for a second term in 2001, was making her first bilateral visit to India eight months before her tenure ends.
Khaleda Zia will arrive in New Delhi on March 20 on a three-day state visit, her first since assuming power five years ago.
The source could not say which country Zia will be visiting first. "We've conveyed our intention to both the governments of India and Pakistan, and the dates will be fixed on mutual convenience," he said.
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday on a three-day visit during which he will hold discussions with the government about his $2 billion investment plans in Bangladesh.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday accused the Vajpayee government of failure to put pressure on the Khaleda Zia regime to save minority Hindus from 'growing torture' and threatened to organise a economic blockade of Bangladesh.
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