Bad news for BNP ahead of Bangladesh elections as Khaleda Zia placed on ventilator support after…, doctors say her condition is…

In a major blow to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ahead of the upcoming general elections in the country, its chairperson and former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia has been placed on ventilator support after her health condition deteriorated.

Why Khaleda Zia was placed on life support?

In a statement on Thursday, chief of the medical board cardiologist Shahabuddin Talukdar said the 80-year-old former premier was put on life support after her breathing difficulties increased, oxygen level dropped and carbon dioxide levels rose.

Zia, who has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital since November 23 for multiple health complications, was previously being treated with “High Flow Nasal Cannula and BiPAP support, but as there was no improvement, she was placed on elective ventilator support to give rest to her lungs and other vital organs,” Talukdar said.

According to the statement, the three-time premier’s condition is being monitored round-the-clock by a team of local and foreign specialists, as several of her vital organs continue to be under severe stress.

“Her kidney function has stopped completely, and she is undergoing regular dialysis,” the board said, adding she currently needed blood transfusions. The board detected problems in her “aortic valve” as well.

“As her fever persisted and echocardiography showed issues in the aortic valve, a Transoesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE) was performed. It confirmed infective endocarditis, a serious infection of the heart valve. Treatment for this has been started according to international guidelines,” the statement read.

Medical board urges people not to spread rumors about Zia’s health

Doctors said Khaleda Zia was diagnosed with “acute pancreatitis” when she was being administered high-quality anti-biotic and anti-fungal drugs for “severe infections”.

Meanwhile, the medical board urged people to refrain from spreading misinformation about Zia’s health condition and to respect her privacy and dignity. “Our medical team is working with the highest level of care, attention and sincerity.”

Earlier, Zia’s personal physician and BNP standing committee member AZM Zahid Hossain has briefed the media on her health several times, but this is the first time the medical board has issued a statement on her condition.

How Khaleda Zia’s ill health could impact BNP?

Khaleda Zia’s ill health comes as a major setback for her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ahead of the Bangladesh general elections, the country’s first after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which are scheduled to be held on February 12, 2026.

On Thursday, Bangladesh Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, in a televised address to the nation announced that the country’s 13th Parliamentary Elections will be held on February 12. Voting will take place on February 12, 2026, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm,” the CEC announced.

The last general elections in Bangladesh were held in January 2024, in which Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League had secured a landslide win, amid controversy and boycott by major opposition parties, including former PM Khaleda Zia-led BNP.

In the absence of Hasina’s Awami League, which was disbanded by the Muhammad Yunus-led Interim government earlier this year, Zia’s BNP has emerged as the as the frontrunner, with its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami being the main rival.

However, Zia, 80, is critically ill, and its believed that BNP is being steered by her self-exiled elder son and party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman from London, where he is staying since 2008.

Why Zia was hospitalised?

In May this year, Khaleda Zia, the former three-time prime minister of Bangladesh, returned to the country from London after undergoing advanced medical treatment in the UK capital for over four months.

She was hospitalised on November 23 after she developed a chest infection that affected both her heart and lungs, and four days later, she was shifted to the coronary care unit (CCU) after several of her health complications worsened.

The 80-year-old BNP chairperson was scheduled to be flown to London last week with the medical board’s consent but her scheduled departure was delayed as an air ambulance offered by Qatar could not reach Dhaka. The doctors later decided the former premier should receive continued treatment at the Evercare Hospital until she was deemed fit for the flight.