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Sharad Pawar taken to hospital after pain in abdomen, to undergo surgery
Pawar, who is on blood-thinning medication, will undergo a surgery on March 31.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was taken to Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital after he complained of pain in his abdomen, confirmed party leader Nawab Malik on Monday.
"Pawar was feeling a little uneasy due to a pain in his abdomen last evening and was therefore taken to Breach Candy Hospital (in Mumbai) for a check-up. Upon diagnosis, it came to light that he has a problem in his gallbladder," Malik told news agency ANI.
Pawar, who is on blood-thinning medication, will undergo a surgery on March 31.
"An endoscopy and surgery will be conducted. All his programmes stand cancelled until further notice," Malik told ANI.
Shortly after the news of Pawar's ill-health broke out, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan called and checked on the NCP chief.
"Received a phone call from Shri @drharshvardhan ji to check about my health. Appreciate him checking on my health and well-being," Pawar said in a tweet.
The 80-year-old NCP chief was scheduled to travel to West Bengal to campaign for chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the state Assembly polls. He was scheduled to stay in the state for three days, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase had said.
The development comes amid speculation that Pawar met Union home minister Amit Shah at a top industrialist's residence in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
At a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, Shah parried a query on the purported meeting, saying everything cannot be made public.
Malik, whose party shares power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and Congress, had said no such meeting took place, adding there is an attempt to create confusion by spreading such rumours.
