Sharad Pawar Unwell, Will Be Hospitalised On Wednesday For Surgery: NCP

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has been diagnosed with a gall bladder disease and will be operated for the same on March 31, his party informed today. A cancer survivor, the 80-year-old former Union Minister had undergone surgery for the illness in 2004.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik today tweeted saying that Mr Pawar had felt some pain in his abdomen last evening and had undergone a checkup, following which the doctors found stones in his gall bladder. All his programmes now stand cancelled until further notice, Mr Malik tweeted.

Kind attention
Our party president Sharad Pawar saheb was feeling a little uneasy due to a pain in his abdomen last evening and was therefore taken to Breach Candy Hospital for a check up.
Upon diagnosis it came to light that he has a problem in his Gall Bladder.

— Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) March 29, 2021

"He is on blood-thinning medication which is now being stopped due to this issue. He will be admitted in hospital on the 31st of March 2021 and an endoscopy and surgery will be conducted. Hence, all his programmes stand cancelled until further notice," the NCP spokesperson said.

In the afternoon, Mr Pawar himself tweeted saying Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had called him enquiring after his health.

Received a phone call from Shri @drharshvardhan ji to check about my health. Appreciate him checking on my health and well-being.

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) March 29, 2021

In a reply to his tweet in Marathi, playback singing icon Lata Mangehkar, too, wished Mr Pawar well saying the "blessings of the people of Maharashtra and the nation" were with him.

The diagnosis of Mr Pawar's illness comes amid a major crisis in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The NCP is part of this coalition, along with the Shiv Sena and the Congress.

The 14-month-old government is facing the heat of the Mukesh Ambani bomb-scare case, which has put NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, the state Home Minister, in a serious spot of bother. Meanwhile, there have also been reports of Mr Pawar meeting Union Minister Amit Shah in Ahmedabad on Saturday, setting off rumours. While Mr Shah was noncommittal on the issue, the NCP has flatly denied that such a meeting took place.