Sanjay Raut to stay away from public life for two months for health reasons

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP and chief party spokesperson Sanjay Raut announced on Friday that he would stay away from public life for the next two months due to health issues. He, however, did not mention any specific details about his health.

Coming as it does months before the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the sudden and unusual announcement of Raut has sent ripples in the political circles in Maharashtra.

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On Friday, he posted a letter on his X handle addressed to party workers in Marathi reading: “Jai Maharashtra! All of you have always believed in me and loved me, but now suddenly there has been a serious deterioration in my health. Treatment is on and I will come out of this soon. As per medical advice, I have been restricted from going out and mingling with crowds. There is no way around it. I am sure I will recover and come to meet you in the new year. May your love and blessings remain.”

Raut’s message came as a complete surprise to both Uddhav-led Shiv Sena leaders as well as other political parties since he was expected to participate in the joint rally by Opposition parties in Mumbai on Saturday, November 1, against manipulated voters’ lists for which Raut is known to have done considerable organisation and preparatory work.

Raut was admitted to Fortis Hospital in Mulund on October 13 after he suddenly felt unwell. Earlier, he had undergone a medical examination.

The Sena leader was scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday morning, but did not do so, and instead tweeted the reason for his absence from his official X account.

Sanjay Raut is known for his ability to embarrass the ruling party by criticising the Fadnavis government on a regular basis. He is known as a leader who fought single-handedly for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.

Raut is known to be close to both Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray, besides being friendly to many leaders in practically every political party.

Sanjay Raut, who is a former journalist, writes a column in the Shiv Sena’s Marathi language daily morning newspaper ‘Saamna’ read widely throughout Maharashtra. He wrote the screenplay of the Hindi film ‘Thackeray’ in which actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the role of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. He was also producer of the film and refused to remove a few dialogues from the biopic, even after the Censor Board had asked him to do so.