Hasina and Singh in Delhi on Monday. (PTI)

New Delhi, July 26: A series of meetings between Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and the Indian leadership barely five days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to meet his Bangladeshi counterpart Khaleda Zia has raised a few eyebrows in both countries.

The question doing the rounds is whether the United Progressive Alliance government is trying to revive its old links with the Awami League and keep its options open while dealing with its neighbour.

Hasina, who arrived today, met the Prime Minister and defence minister Pranab Mukherjee. She also attended a dinner hosted by foreign minister Natwar Singh at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel. Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral will host a lunch for her tomorrow.

The former Bangladesh Prime Minister is here on a private visit and apart from meeting leaders in Delhi, she is scheduled to visit Ajmer Sharif before returning to Dhaka on Thursday.

“She is leader of the Opposition in Bangladesh. The courtesy being shown to her is nothing unusual but something which we do with other leaders of her rank and stature,” a senior South Block official said. “We don’t have any favourites in Dhaka. We want good relations with Bangladesh and whichever party comes to power there, we are willing to deal with it.”

The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold a meeting with Khaleda on the sidelines of the Bimstec meet in Thailand on July 31. The meeting — the first since the Congress-led coalition came to power in Delhi — gathers significance as it gives both sides the opportunity to reassure each other about their intentions of strengthening ties.

Keen to build its relations with Delhi, the Bangladesh National Party government had sent foreign minister Morshed Khan as the Prime Minister’s “special envoy” to convey Khaleda’s intentions to the UPA when it came to power in May.

However, Hasina’s interaction with the Indian leadership is likely to make the BNP jittery.

India, careful not to ruffle feathers, is trying not to hype Hasina’s visit. The foreign minister, and not the Prime Minister, hosted today’s dinner.

Moreover, to make it clear that it was not official-level talks that India was interested in, but an informal interaction, the dinner was held at a five-star hotel and not Hyderabad House — the venue for most officials banquets.

The Awami League has failed to pose itself as an effective opposition in Bangladesh. After threatening to bring down the BNP government by April 30, Hasina and her supporters lost steam. At the moment, her party seems directionless and bereft of an effective agenda.

But Awami League workers are spread all over Bangladesh and they can be mobilised with a proper and attractive political programme.

Hasina may take the opportunity to highlight the lack of law and order and security in her country.