NCP(SP) President Sharad Pawar, who lost his voice briefly at an election rally on Sunday night, is recovering but has been advised to take rest for a day or two, party leaders said here on Monday.
The senior Pawar, 83, who was addressing an election rally on Sunday, stood up and spoke for barely five minutes and then suddenly became silent, apparently losing his voice, and then stopped his address.
As his concerned party leaders and workers waited, Sharad Pawar was helped off the stage and taken home, while some other speakers pitched in for him.
Indicating he was returning to his cheerful but fighting mode, Sharad Pawar on Monday morning paid tributes on the 102nd death anniversary of the legendary Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur.
"Pawar Sahib was mistakenly offered cold water to drink at one of the rallies yesterday... Normally, he doesn't take chilled water and that affected his voice. Otherwise, he is absolutely fit and fine with no cause for worries. He has been advised to rest his throat for one or two days," a top leader told IANS on Monday morning.
He explained that in the past three weeks, the senior Pawar has addressed a staggering 52 poll rallies across the state, braving the extreme heat and kept up a grueling election campaign schedule despite his advanced age, for all the Maha Vikas Aghadi and NCP(SP) candidates.
Accordingly, he has cancelled all his engagements for today, and possibly tomorrow also depending on the pace of recovery. On Tuesday, polling for the third phase of LS polls shall be held in the state and other parts of India.
The leader assured that Sharad Pawar is already scheduled to campaign vigorously for the remaining two phases of the elections on May 13 and May 20, including a mega-rally of the INDIA-MVA alliance top leaders in Mumbai next fortnight and there is no change in his plans as of now.
Meanwhile, many party workers expressed concerns over Pawar's health, and some have taken to social media, requesting him to "take care of your health, we shall work very hard and deliver victory at your feet".
(With inputs from IANS)
