New Delhi, Nov. 11: Sharad Pawar, the Union agriculture minister and NCP president, underwent an angioplasty after a blood vessel on the left side of the heart was found to be blocked.

The blockage was detected when an angiogram of his heart was taken this morning at the Escorts Hospital to which he was admitted on Friday after he complained of chest pain and uneasiness.

Pawar’s family immediately decided that the angioplasty needed to be done, according to sources.

This is the second time he has undergone an angioplasty. The first time was in 2003.

Pawar has been dogged by ill health since 2004. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, he was operated on in Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital to remove a lesion in his mouth. The surgery restricted his campaigning.

A family member said Pawar will be in hospital until Tuesday and is expected to get back to work by Friday. But he is unlikely to travel out of Delhi for some time.