Something unusual has happened in Bangladesh’s presidential race. Muhammad Yunus, who stood at the center of the country’s political transition after Sheikh Hasina’s fall, is no longer at the center of the contest for the presidency.

The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is moving toward Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the party’s Secretary General, as its presidential candidate. The opposition 11-party alliance has chosen veteran politician Col. (Retd.) Oli Ahmed. The election follows a change at the top of the state, with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed serving as acting president while parliament prepares to choose a permanent successor.

The election will decide who becomes president, but perhaps the more interesting story is about the man who may not become president.

For months, Yunus’s political future was widely discussed. After leading the interim government, there was speculation that the Nobel laureate could move to the presidency and remain an important figure in the Bangladeshi state. That possibility now appears to be disappearing.

This matters beyond Bangladesh’s domestic politics because the Yunus period also saw one of the most difficult phases in recent India-Bangladesh relations. After Hasina lost power in August 2024, she went to India. Yunus took charge of the interim government, and the political change in Dhaka soon changed the atmosphere between the two neighbors.

Disagreements grew over Hasina, minority rights, border issues, trade and security. Anti-India rhetoric became much louder in Bangladesh. At the same time, provocative rhetoric also came from voices in India. Social media made matters worse.

Some voices in Bangladesh began talking about India’s northeastern states, known as the Seven Sisters, and even Kolkata in territorial terms. On the Indian side, some voices responded with territorial claims involving Bangladesh,........

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