A shadow of his former self, Chhagan Bhujbal nevertheless continues to charm audiences with his wit. His face shows flashes of pain, a reminder of his prolonged stay in jail. He says it was luck and the expertise of doctors at KEM Hospital who treated his pancreatic ailment that saved him.

Bhujbal opened up before a select group of journalists at Nagpur's Vidhan Bhavan on Tuesday, narrating his acute health problems and a resolve to fight all odds, including a corruption case in which he was denied bail for more than two years.