Praful Patel’s Hospital Visit to Sharad Pawar Fuels Speculation Over NCP Rift

Praful Patel’s Thursday hospital visit to Sharad Pawar in Mumbai has fuelled speculation about tensions inside the Nationalist Congress Party. Patel met the NCP-SP chief at Breach Candy Hospital and inquired about his health.

In a post on X, Patel said, "I visited the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to pay a courtesy call on the esteemed Shri Sharad Pawar Saheb and inquired about his health."

The visit came amid signs of internal discord in the NCP. Senior leaders are reportedly unhappy with party president Sunetra Pawar and with her son Parth’s role in the organisation. BJP leaders have also taken notice, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah met senior NCP leaders to discuss the widening rift.

Pawar's Health Update

Earlier on Thursday, Dr Pratit Samdani said Pawar was in a stable condition at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, where he is being treated for a respiratory and chest infection.

Speaking to reporters, Samdani said, "Sharad Pawar was admitted yesterday at Breach Candy Hospital for a respiratory and chest infection. He is stable and under treatment. He was admitted last night; he had a cough and an infection, something like bronchitis trouble. His treatment is ongoing, and he is currently stable."

The veteran politician had been admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic on November 2 after complaints of cough and pleuritic chest pain. His daughter, Baramati MP and NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule, had earlier said he was undergoing medical tests and that all his health parameters were stable.

Party Rift Deepens

The Shah meeting sharpened attention on the rift. The Indian Express reported that six senior NCP leaders — Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde — met Amit Shah without Sunetra or Parth. The report said they raised the issue of "lack of collective leadership."

Reporting published between November 2 and 5, 2026 said the complaints were aimed mainly at Parth Pawar’s growing influence and an alleged lack of consultation, not at an outright rejection of Sunetra Pawar’s leadership. The dispute, as reported, was about how decisions were being made inside the party.

Patel’s later hospital visit to Sharad Pawar added more speculation around those internal tensions. The sequence — Shah’s meeting with senior leaders and then Patel’s visit to Pawar — kept attention on the NCP’s internal balance.

Denials And Defences

The NCP said the meeting with Amit Shah was arranged with Sunetra’s knowledge and denied internal differences, media reports said. On November 2, the party’s spokesperson said the NCP would work collectively under Sunetra’s leadership and called claims that she and Parth were sidelined "incorrect, baseless and misleading."

Parth Pawar also rejected claims of discord.

That account was not accepted by everyone. Reporting on the same day said some senior members disputed Parth’s version, while the party continued to publicly defend Sunetra Pawar’s leadership, as reported by Theprint.