Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday telephoned NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar to enquire about his health following the veteran leader's discharge from Pune's Ruby Hall Clinic, and told him that his daughter Supriya Sule was "ready" to take care of the country along with him, according to Pawar's close aide Vitthal Maniyar.
"This morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called to enquire about Saheb's health. He spoke to Saheb with great affection and respect and said, 'Saheb, please take complete rest. Supriya is ready now. Supriya and we will take care of the country. You rest; this is my request.'" Maniyar told reporters in Pune.
Pawar replied that he was resting and had no worries about the country, Maniyar said. "Saheb told him, 'I am resting, and when all of you are there, I have no worries about the country. You keep working.' Saheb thanked him for enquiring about his health," Maniyar said.
Neither Pawar nor PM Modi confirmed the conversation, though.
#WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar family friend Vitthal Maniyar says, "His health is very good; there are no serious issues. Two days ago, he had a cough and some congestion, for which he was admitted here. He is always very mindful of his health, so he came in for a check-up. All the test reports came back positive—there was nothing concerning in them at all. He required some treatment for those two issues, and more importantly, he needed some rest. He stayed in the hospital for that rest and was actually planning to leave yesterday. However, we all requested that he stay one more day under the doctor's supervision. He left for Mumbai this morning. He is just experiencing a bit of weakness, which will resolve once he has had some food. Soon, you will see him back among us, just as he always was..."
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Maniyar was speaking about Pawar, 85, who had been admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic on November 2 with complaints of cough and pleuritic (chest) pain. Pawar had toured drought-hit parts of Maharashtra shortly before he was hospitalised. Sule, the Baramati MP, had said earlier that her father was undergoing tests and all his health parameters were stable.
While it is being seen also as a courtesy call, the Modi-Pawar exchange has fueled speculation about political equations in Maharashtra, including a possible reunification of the NCP that could align Sharad Pawar's faction also with the BJP. His daughter Sule's possible entry to the Modi cabinet is also among the possibilities reportedly being discussed for months now.
The call comes days after a fresh round of churn in the NCP main faction, which Sharad's nephew Ajit Pawar aligned with the BJP-led state government in 2023 when the veteran uncle had to rename his faction as NCP (SP) after the party proper was awarded to Ajit by the Election Commission. After Ajit died in a plane crash in January 2026, his wife Sunetra became deputy chief president in his place, and talks of a merger of the two factions stalled.
There's been some movement lately, though, even as Sule has been a major face in the Congress-led INDIA bloc, even joining the Opposition group's rally in Delhi on November 1 over alleged electoral fraud and collusion between the EC and the BJP.
READ | Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule Meet PM Modi Amid Buzz Over NCP Support To NDA
While that was happening, a delegation of senior leaders from the late Ajit Pawar's NCP met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday night and reportedly raised concerns about unilateral decision-making by Sunetra Pawar and her son, Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar. The absence of Sunetra Pawar and her sons Parth and Jay from the talks drew attention in political circles.
The NCP, however, sought to publicly shut the door on a merger after a core committee meeting in Mumbai on Monday. "We will work collectively under the leadership of (Deputy CM and NCP chief) Sunetra Pawar. Merger with the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has been ruled out," state NCP president Sunil Tatkare said.
Tatkare also said, however, that the issue had been raised in the meeting with Shah and that a decision would be taken at the appropriate time. He added that the NCP wanted the finance portfolio, once held by Ajit, and would decide who would hold it.
The question of reunification has hung over the Pawar family since Ajit Pawar, who had seized control of the original NCP after rebelling against his uncle in June-July 2023, died in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister on January 31 in the government led by BJP's Devendra Fadnavis. Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde is the other deputy chief minister, complicating matters within the Mahayuti alliance.
Sharad Pawar had said there were no ongoing merger talks, while acknowledging that discussions had earlier taken place between NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar. He later categorically ruled out a merger with the NDA-aligned faction in late July.
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