India, Feb. 11 -- With Bangladesh heading to polls on Thursday, the country's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina remains in self-imposed exile in India. Hasina was ousted after student-led protests in July 2024, following which she flew to New Delhi, where she is residing at a secret safe house under full security.

An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been governing Bangladesh since Hasina's ouster.

While her party, Awami League, has been banned from contesting the February 12 general elections, the timeline for the 78-year-old leader's return remains unclear, particularly after she was handed the death penalty by a Bangladesh court in November. The court found the former prime minister guilty of "crimes...