Sharad Pawar to undergo a gallbladder surgery

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, 80, is unwell. He has been diagnosed with gallstones (stones in gallbladder) and is likely to be operated upon for the same at the Breach Candy Hospital on March 31.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, 80, is unwell. He has been diagnosed with gallstones (stones in gallbladder) and is likely to be operated upon for the same at the Breach Candy Hospital on March 31.

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All his scheduled meetings have been cancelled till further notice.

The veteran leader was feeling uneasy owing to abdominal pain and was taken to the hospital for a check-up on Sunday evening, where he was diagnosed with stones in the gallbladder and was advised an immediate surgery.

“Pawar was on blood-thinner medication and following advice of doctors, they have stopped the same. On March 31, he will be admitted to the hospital for endoscopy followed by a surgery the same day,” said Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson, NCP.

Party insiders said he is on painkillers and is taking rest at his south Mumbai residence — ‘Silver Oak’.

“The surgery could have been conducted immediately if he wasn’t on blood-thinner medication. Those medicines have to be stopped 48 hours before a surgery. He is also likely to undergo laparoscopic surgery that will take an hour or so, but he has to be kept under observation for a day or two. Later, he will have to be at home for rest for some more days,” said a NCP insider.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, union minister of health and family welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan, legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, MNS chief Raj Thackeray etc. enquired about his health. Pawar thanked them on his Twitter handle.

“Chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray earnestly inquired about my health. His good wishes are a representation of sentiments of Maharashtra. Thank you very much!,” he said in a tweet.

On March 1, the NCP chief had taken the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine along with his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule.

He had also undergone hip replacement surgery at Breach Candy hospital in December 2014 NCP had declared that Pawar will travel to West

Bengal on a three-day visit from April 1. Pawar had planned to campaign in West Bengal in support of Mamata Banerjee.