BIG setback for BNP ahead of Bangladesh polls as Khaleda Zia’s condition deteriorates, party says former PM is…

In a major blow for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ahead of the April 2026 general elections in Bangladesh, its chairperson and the country’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia is critically ill, with the party describing her condition as “extremely unwell”.

What did BNP leaders say about Zia’s condition?

According to BNP leaders, the health condition of Khaleda Zia has deteriorated over the past few day, the 80-year-old leader has been placed on ventilation, with a team of local and international medical specialists overseeing her treatment at private hospital in Bangladesh capital Dhaka.

“Her condition has deteriorated, and she was put on ventilation. She is in a very critical condition. There is nothing more to do except seek prayers from the whole nation,” BNP Vice-Chairman Advocate Ahmed Aazam Khan told reporters outside Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital where Zia is admitted.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also confirmed that Zia remains in a critical condition. “She is extremely unwell. The entire nation is praying for her recovery… She is seriously ill, and our doctors are making every possible effort. Local and foreign specialists are involved in her treatment. They are trying their best,” Alamgir was quoted as saying.

Earlier, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday said the former PM’s physical condition remained unchanged.

Why Khaleda Zia was hospitalised?

Khaleda Zia, the wife of slain Bangladesh president Ziaur Rahman, has been suffering from multiple other health complications, including liver and kidney issues, diabetes, arthritis, and eye-related illnesses.

On November 23, she was s admitted to a private hospital when she developed a chest infection that affected both her heart and lungs, and four days later, the former PM was shifted to the coronary care unit after several of her health complications worsened.

Blow to BNP ahead of Bangladesh polls

Khaleda Zia, the former three-time prime minister of Bangladesh, returned to the country from London on May 6 this year after undergoing advanced medical treatment in the UK capital for over four months.

Zia’s only son and BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, has been living in London since 2008, while her other son, Arafat Rahman, died of a cardiac arrest in 2025.

BNP has re-emerged as the frontrunner in Bangladesh’s changed political landscape after a student-led protests toppled the country’s Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

Earlier, in June this year, Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus announced that the national election will be held in the first half of April 2026.