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NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, admitted to a private hospital here following a chest infection, is stable and recovering well, doctors said on Tuesday. The 85-year-old Rajya Sabha member was brought to Ruby Hall Clinic on Monday afternoon from his residence in Baramati town in Pune district after he complained of difficulty in breathing and a persistent cough. Dr Simon Grant, physician and trustee of the hospital, stated that Pawar is stable and recovering well. "His vital parameters are within normal limits, and his overall clinical condition is stable and he is recovering well," he said. The mild discomfort noted at the time of admission has improved with ongoing medical management, the doctor said. "As a precautionary measure, he continues to remain under observation. His treatment is being carried out strictly as per Ruby Hall Clinic's established medical protocols, and all investigations are being closely monitored," he said. Further decisions regarding the course of care
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar was on Monday brought to a private hospital in Pune from his residence in Baramati after complaints of cough and difficulty in breathing. A CT scan was performed and there is chest infection, Ruby Hall Clinic chief cardiologist and managing trustee Dr Parvez Grant said. "After all the tests, we may admit him for a day," Dr Grant added. A team of doctors is examining him and further course of action will be taken accordingly, he said. The 85-year-old leader was brought to the hospital in the afternoon. He was accompanied by daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule and her husband Sadanand Sule. Immediately after arrival from Baramati, around 100 km from Pune, the former Union minister, who lost his nephew and deputy CM Ajit Pawar in an air crash on January 28, was wheeled inside the hospital. Pawar, who came in an MPV, came out of the vehicle on his own before being taken inside the facility in a wheelchair. Pawar, an oral cancer survivor, was suffer
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Praful Patel on Sunday termed as baseless reports that he has been appointed as the party's national president. "I have noted few reports circulating in the media regarding my appointment as the National President of the Nationalist Congress Party. I wish to state with absolute clarity that these reports are totally baseless and lack any truth," Patel said in a post on X. Patel's statement came after remarks by Union minister Piyush Goyal in an interview to PTI. "The Nationalist Congress Party is a democratic institution. A decision of this magnitude will only be made by consulting our senior leadership and MLAs, engaging with our dedicated party office-bearers, and respecting the sentiments and collective will of all our party members. Being a national party, we follow the established process in these matters," Patel said. Goyal said in a post on X on Sunday that he had made the remarks on the basis of incorrect information.
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar left for Mumbai from Baramati on Sunday morning, four days after the air crash that claimed the life of his nephew and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. NCP leader Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar, who took oath as deputy CM in Mumbai on Saturday, returned to Baramati in Pune, the hometown of the Pawars, late at night. It was unclear whether Sharad Pawar and Sunetra Pawar met or spoke over the phone amid the latest political developments and talks about the merger of the two NCP factions. Sharad Pawar has no scheduled programmes in Mumbai. His daughter and Baramati Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule left for Delhi on Saturday to attend the budget session. The NCP (SP) chief on Saturday claimed that he had "no idea" about the swearing-in of Sunetra Pawar as deputy chief minister, and said his late nephew had finalised February 12 to announce a merger between the NCP factions. He also said the process to merge the NCP (SP) and NCP may now face
NCP (SP) Maharashtra president Shashikant Shinde has claimed his party chief Sharad Pawar and other leaders had no prior knowledge about NCP leader Sunetra Pawar's swearing-in as the state's Deputy Chief Minister. He also said that after the recent civic elections in the state, a decision was made to pursue the unification of the two parties. Sunetra Pawar (62), wife of Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash in Pune's Baramati town on January 28, was on Saturday sworn in as the first woman deputy CM of Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar did not have prior knowledge about her swearing-in, Shinde told reporters on Saturday. "There had been discussions and meetings on the two NCPs coming together. But Ajitdada is no more. Some broad positions had been discussed earlier. Now, we will discuss what needs to be done and then make a decision. How others respond is their call," he said. On questions over the apparent haste in conducting Sunetra Pawar's swearing-in ceremony, Shinde said the answers sh
Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra on Saturday, three days after the death of her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. She is set to take oath as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the state later in the day. Sunetra Pawar's name as the NCP's legislature party leader was proposed by senior leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. She was elected during a meeting of the party's legislature wing, held at the office of late Ajit Pawar on the ground floor of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai. Ajit Pawar, who was deputy chief minister and finance minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, was killed in a plane crash in Baramati along with four others on January 28. Sunetra Pawar paid floral tributes to a portrait of her late husband in the meeting hall. Their younger son Jay was also present. Many ministers and legisla
The process to merge the NCP (SP) and NCP may now face a roadblock due to the death of Ajit Pawar, said Sharad Pawar on Saturday. Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others after a Learjet 45 aircraft they were travelling in crashed at Baramati, his hometown here, on January 28. The process to merge the two factions was underway for the past four months under Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, the NCP (SP) chief told reporters in Baramati. "All discussions were held at their level, but it now appears the process may hit a roadblock following the (plane) accident. The talks were progressing in a positive direction, but the accident adversely affected the process," the former Union minister said. Efforts were being made to establish cordial dialogue between the two factions, he added. Asked whether the merger process would continue, Sharad Pawar said he did not know as he was not part of these discussions. "It was A
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he did not expect the merger of two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions - each headed by Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash two days ago, and his uncle Sharad Pawar. He said that the NCP, as part of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, has performed very well. "I personally do not see that will happen," he told PTI in an interview when asked his views on the talks of the merger of the two NCP factions. Goyal said that the NCP leadership "was with Ajit Pawar and now with Sunetra Pawar Ji". He added that Praful Patel has been appointed as the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party. "I don't see Mr Sharad Pawar being invited to join the NCP, given that he has lost the people's trust and the vote," he added.
Amid reports that Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, will be sworn in as the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday distanced himself from the development, claiming he had no idea about it. Addressing a press conference in Baramati, Pawar said that he had found out about the swearing-in through media reports. "We don't know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the swearing-in," he said, when asked if anyone from the Pawar family would be attending the ceremony. He said the NCP must have made the decision. "Some people like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare took the initiative. These people might have decided something," he said. The veteran leader further claimed that it was his late nephew Ajit Pawar's wish to unite both factions, and that they were optimistic about it. "Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday said the legislature party meeting of the NCP will be held on January 31, where late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra will be named as its leader. Talking to reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) office here, Bhujbal said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has conveyed that he has no issues if her oath-taking ceremony as the deputy CM takes place on Saturday itself provided a decision to that effect is taken by the legislature wing of the party. Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature. However, the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district has fallen vacant after Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash on Wednesday. "The legislature party meeting of the NCP will be convened on Saturday, where Sunetra Pawar will be named as its leader. Many leaders want her to become the deputy CM," Bhujbal said. The most important thing is to fill the vacant post of
Senior NCP leaders on Friday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here, amid uncertainty over the party's future following the death of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash. The meeting at the CM's official residence Varsha in south Mumbai, which lasted nearly one and a half hours, was attended by senior NCP leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, national working president Praful Patel, state president Sunil Tatkare and former minister Dhananjay Munde, sources said. According to the sources in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the leaders met Fadnavis to deliberate on the political situation in the state and the way forward for the party after Pawar's sudden demise. However, it was not immediately clear what transpired during the discussions, and there was no official statement from either side after the meeting. The NCP, which Pawar headed, the BJP and Shiv Sena are the constituents of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state. NCP minister Narhari Zirwal on Thursda
A Mumbai court on Friday discharged NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal in a money laundering case pertaining to the construction of 'Maharashtra Sadan' in New Delhi. The case relates to a 2005-2006 deal that the NCP leader, when he was state PWD minister, allegedly gave to a firm for its construction. As per the Enforcement Directorate, Bhujbal and his family members had received kickbacks from construction firm K S Chamankar for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan. The probe agency had claimed the construction company had transferred money to firms in which the minister's son Pankaj and nephew Sameer Bhujbal were directors. On Friday, special PMLA Judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar accepted the discharge application of the senior NCP leader and other accused in the case, a lawyer said. The ED case is based on a FIR registered by the Anti Corruption Bureau against the NCP leader and his kin. It is alleged that the original cost estimate for Maharashtra Sadan was Rs 13.5 crore, but w
The NCP, led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and the NCP (SP), headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar, on Saturday released a joint manifesto for the upcoming elections to the Pune municipal corporation. Ajit Pawar and his cousin Supriya Sule, the working president of NCP (SP), shared the dais at a joint press conference, signalling growing proximity between the two factions after a bitter split in 2023. The NCP, although a member of the ruling Mahayuti, and NCP (SP), a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, have joined hands for the January 15 elections to Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies. Sule and other NCP (SP) leaders, who had largely remained absent from the campaign so far, were present at the release of the manifesto. Addressing the gathering, Ajit Pawar said the manifesto focuses on key civic issues in Pune. The poll document assures tap water supply, easing of traffic congestion, pothole-free roads, cleanliness, hi-tech healthcare services, ...
The son of a Nationalist Congress Party candidate for the Pune civic polls was booked along with 13 others on Saturday for allegedly offering inducements to voters, a police official said. The Baner police station official identified the accused as Kiran Chandere, son of Baburao Chandere, who is contesting from ward number 9 Baner-Sus-Pashan. "Kiran Chandere and 13 others were booked under sections 223, 171 and 74 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for model code of conduct violations. They were found inducing voters in Baner area. We also found a voters list and some other documents in their possession," the official said. Videos related to the incident had gone viral on social media on Friday. Polls to 29 municipal corporations, including Pune, will take place on January 15, while votes will be counted the next day. A total of 1,166 candidates are in the fray across 41 wards, which comprise 165 seats, in Pune.
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan on Saturday said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar should "introspect", after he alleged corruption and debt in the Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, which had been ruled by the BJP. If the Bharatiya Janata Party starts making allegations, it would create serious difficulties for him (Pawar), Chavan said, and advised the NCP chief to "introspect" before levelling allegations. The NCP, headed by Pawar, is an ally of the BJP in the ruling Mahayuti dispensation. Chavan was responding to Pawar's allegations that the civic body has been infested with corruption for the last nine years and has been pushed into debt over the same period. Notably, the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation was governed by the BJP from 2017 to 2022 and thereafter by a state-appointed administrator. The civic body is going to the polls on January 15, along with 28 other municipal corporations. "Ajit Pawar made this statement in the backdrop of the upcoming elections. Aji
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls, voting for which will be held on January 15. Across the state, as many as 68 candidates from the BJP and the Mahayuti have been elected unopposed, reflecting the party's growing strength in urban local bodies, BJP leader Keshav Upadhye said on Friday. This includes 44 of the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has seen 22 of its candidates getting elected unopposed, while the figure is two for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. BJP leaders attributed the trend to the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and what they described as the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavan. These have helped the BJP emerge as a dominant force not only in municipal councils but also in .