BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said party chief Khaleda Zia will run in the polls if she is fit.

"If she's physically fit, she will definitely contest the election," he told NDTV in an interview yesterday.

"She's very sick. She's in the hospital. She's suffering from multidisciplinary diseases. Her treatment was not going well in this country and we requested the judiciary as well as the government several times to send her abroad, but that didn't happen... Doctors say she's not fit to travel right now and we will have to wait for some time before taking her outside the country," he said.

The BNP leader said while his party is ready for polls at any point, the interim government would need more time to conduct them.

"The entire election machinery has become totally polluted and they are not in a position to hold a free-and-fair election. So, they will have to bring some reforms to the election system as well."

The BNP leader also said he believes that the Bangladesh army will not interfere in the political process going forward and also claimed that no extremist elements were involved in the protests.

"People have confidence in the army that they are the saviours of the country. So I don't think they will do anything which will go against the will of the people," he said.