Mumbai, June 5 (IANS) Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar G. Joshi has been shifted out of the intensive care unit, the PD Hinduja Hospital said here on Monday.

Joshi, 86, was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition on May 22 following a brain haemorrhage, sparking huge concerns in political circles for the past couple of weeks.

"He has been shifted out of the ICU and his health is currently stable. However, he remains semi-conscious. Our team of experts continues to closely monitor his health," said a hospital bulletin.

Shiv Sena-UBT President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi and other family members have visited Joshi twice in the hospital, enquiring after his health.

Shiv Sena's Joshi became the first non-Congress CM of the state when the party bagged power in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party, and ruled for four years (1995-1999), after which Narayan Rane was named the CM.

Later, Joshi moved to the Centre as a Cabinet Minister for Heavy Industries and later elected as the Speaker of Lok Sabha (2002-2004) during the tenure of the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, becoming only the second from the state after the Congress' Shivraj Patil (1991-1996) to occupy the august office.

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