BNP Vice Chairman Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed went to India for treatment on Thursday.
He departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:30pm aboard an Air India flight, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
Sayrul said the BNP leader was scheduled to undergo knee surgery at Delhi's Fortis Hospital on Saturday.
Hafiz along with his wife Dilara Hafiz was supposed to go to Delhi on Tuesday. The immigration authorities at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport reportedly barred Hafiz from traveling to India, but his wife was allowed to go there.
Hafizuddin filed a writ petition in the High Court on Wednesday against barring him from going abroad. Meanwhile on Thursday he went to Delhi.
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud informed reporters that a number of BNP leaders, including Hafizuddin, would be leaving the party to join a new one prior to the announcement of the election schedule.
Later, on November 8, Hafizuddin denied rumors that he would divide the BNP to start a new party and announced that he would soon retire from politics at a news conference at his Banani home.
"I'm not physically capable of active political participation. I plan to retire shortly, but my first priority is my health. It is not true that I intend to launch a new political party. I am not currently involved in politics. If the BNP participate in the election, I will participate. I am still a member of the BNP and will remain a member of the party," he stated at the press conference.
