Fadnavis also telephoned Pawar’s daughter, Baramati MP Supriya Sule, to seek an update on his condition and treatment. The 85-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president had been receiving treatment for a chest and respiratory infection.
Pawar was discharged from hospital on Saturday after doctors reported an improvement in his condition. His treating physician, Dr Pratit Samdani, said he was stable and would continue treatment at home, with additional precautions appropriate to his age.
The discharge followed several days of medical observation in Mumbai. Pawar had initially been admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune on November 2, before leaving on November 4 and entering Breach Candy Hospital the same day for further care.
Shinde, who met Pawar on Friday, told journalists that the veteran politician was recovering well and that doctors had found his medical parameters satisfactory. He said there was no cause for alarm and indicated that discharge could take place the following day, an expectation subsequently fulfilled.
The deputy chief minister said his conversation with Pawar extended beyond medical matters. Despite being under treatment, Pawar had asked about drought conditions and water shortages affecting parts of Maharashtra, particularly Satara, an area with which both politicians have longstanding family connections.
Shinde said Pawar remained concerned about farmers and the difficulties facing drought-affected communities. He described the former Union agriculture minister as attentive to developments outside the hospital even while recovering from illness.
Shinde rejected suggestions that the meeting carried a political message. He said he had called on Pawar as a senior leader with whom he maintained personal relations beyond party differences. The visit, he emphasised, was intended to enquire about his health rather than discuss political alignments.
Shinde leads the Shiv Sena faction that is part of Maharashtra’s governing Mahayuti coalition, while Pawar heads an opposition party. Their encounter attracted attention because the state’s principal political formations have remained divided by successive party splits and shifting alliances.
The chief minister’s telephone conversation with Sule provided another instance of contact between political rivals during Pawar’s hospitalisation. Sule, who represents Baramati in the Lok Sabha, has been closely involved in her father’s political organisation and was among the family members attending to him during treatment.
Other senior figures also visited Pawar during his stay. Nationalist Congress Party working president Praful Patel met him on Thursday, despite belonging to a different political formation from the one led by Pawar. Patel said their families maintained close ties and insisted that the hospital was not an appropriate setting for political negotiations.
Congress leaders Sushilkumar Shinde and Balasaheb Thorat, along with NCP leader Dilip Walse-Patil, visited on Friday night. Industrialist Gautam Adani also called at the hospital, reflecting the range of visitors who sought information about Pawar’s recovery.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Pawar by telephone during his illness and advised him to rest before resuming his engagements. The calls and visits took place while the veteran leader remained under medical supervision, rather than at a formal political gathering.
Pawar’s hospitalisation had interrupted his public schedule, including engagements connected with conditions in drought-hit areas. His questions to Shinde about water scarcity underscored the immediate local issues that remained on his mind during their meeting.
The NCP factions have been separate since the party’s 2023 split, which placed leaders now associated with the governing alliance on the opposite side of the political divide from Pawar and Sule. Patel’s visit nevertheless reflected personal connections maintained across that division.
Shinde was accompanied during his hospital call by Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Milind Deora and Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson Sachin Ahir. He also sought information from the doctors responsible for Pawar’s care.
The physician said the bronchitis episode and accompanying chest infection were improving, although treatment would continue after discharge. He said Pawar had responded to the prescribed care and was following medical advice. The hospital did not announce a date for his return to public engagements.
Following his discharge on Saturday, Pawar returned to his residence near Breach Candy Hospital. Doctors advised him to continue medication and observe precautions while recovering from the infection.
