Sheikh Hasina (left) and Khaleda Zia in Dhaka on Friday. (AFP)

Dhaka, Nov. 21: Bangladesh’s “battling begums”, former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Begum Khaleda Zia, today exchanged good wishes for the first time in 18 years.

The long-time rivals shook hands, smiled and spoke during the Armed Forces Day parade here to applause from guests, including top officials of the army-backed interim government.

The pair, who never spoke to each other during the 15 years they rotated as Prime Ministers, were perhaps brought closer by adversity. Arrested last year for alleged corruption, they have been freed to persuade their parties to take part in the December 18 elections.

Some 10 chairs separated the two women, but they managed to come face to face on one occasion. Hasina broke the ice, asking: “How are you?” Khaleda smiled and replied: “I have been fine. What about you?”

“I am fine too,” Hasina said. “It’s strange that when we were in jail in adjacent buildings at the Parliament complex, we never got to talk or even see each other. It’s nice to have met you.” They spoke a while longer before parting.

Hasina and Khaleda had last sat down together in 1990 when they jointly led a people’s revolt to oust military ruler H.M. Ershad.

In September, two other Bengali rivals, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee, had come face to face for the first time but failed to solve the Singur standoff.

Hasina’s Awami League and Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party too retain their differences: Awami has agreed to fight the polls but the BNP wants a 10-day postponement.