Pratibha Pawar, wife of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, underwent surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai on Friday, a party functionary said.

The surgery was related to her hand, the functionary from the Sharad Pawar faction said without elaborating.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited Silver Oak, the official residence of the NCP supremo, to meet Pratibha Pawar after she was discharged from hospital, the party functionary said.

This is apparently the first visit of Ajit Pawar to Silver Oak after he rebelled against his uncle, split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.

Ajit Pawar is known to be close to his aunt Pratibha. In 2019 she reportedly played a crucial role in bringing him back to the NCP fold after he and Devendra Fadnavis formed a short lived government post the Assembly polls.

Fondly known as 'kaki' among NCP leaders, Pratibha Pawar is often viewed as the matriarch of the party but has never been active in politics.

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