Pune, 9 Feb

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar was on Monday admitted to a private hospital in Pune city after he was diagnosed with chest infection, and his health condition is stable, doctors treating him said.

The 85-year-old Rajya Sabha member was brought to Ruby Hall Clinic in the afternoon from his residence in Baramati town in Pune district after he complained of difficulty in breathing and persistent cough.

He underwent a series of medical tests at the hospital and is currently under treatment in a general ward, said the doctors.

A CT (computed tomography) scan was performed on Pawar and it showed infection in his chest, Ruby Hall Clinic chief cardiologist and managing trustee Dr Parvez Grant said.

Dr Abhijit Lodha, one of the treating doctors, said, "Due to physical exertion, he developed cough and chest congestion. Various tests have been conducted, and treatment is currently underway. His condition is stable. Any modifications to the treatment will be decided once all test reports are received. His vital parameters, including oxygen saturation levels, are stable. He is in a regular room and is not in the ICU.

Pawar was accompanied by daughter and Lok Sabha member from Baramati Supriya Sule and her husband Sadanand Sule when he was brought to the hospital.

Immediately after arrival from Baramati, around 100 km from Pune city in western Maharashtra, the former Union minister, who lost his nephew and deputy CM Ajit Pawar in an air crash on 28 January, was wheeled inside the leading private hospital.

Pawar, who came in an MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), came out of the vehicle on his own before being taken inside the medical facility in a wheelchair.

The octogenarian politician is an oral cancer survivor.