Maharashtra political crisis | 51 NCP MLAs wanted Sharad Pawar to explore possibility of joining hands with BJP: Praful Patel

Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel has claimed 51 out of the 53 party MLAs had told NCP chief Sharad Pawar that the possibility of joining hands with the BJP should be explored after the MVA Government in Maharashtra collapsed last year.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel has claimed 51 out of the 53 party MLAs had told NCP chief Sharad Pawar that the possibility of joining hands with the BJP should be explored after the MVA Government in Maharashtra collapsed last year.

If the NCP can form a government with the Shiv Sena, why not with the BJP, Mr. Patel, who has switched over to Ajit Pawar's side, said in an interview to Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas.

On Sunday, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the party to become Deputy Chief Minister in the one-year-old Shiv Sena-BJP Government, shocking his uncle Sharad Pawar, who founded the outfit 24 years ago after quitting the Congress.

Also Read | Post-Ajit Pawar’s rebellion, president Sharad Pawar stages massive show of strength in Satara

Besides Ajit Pawar, eight other NCP MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, were sworn in as Ministers in the Eknath Shinde Cabinet.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government, comprising the Shiv Sena (then undivided), NCP and Congress, collapsed in June last year after a revolt led by Mr. Shinde.

Later, Mr. Shinde became the Chief Minister with BJP's support.