Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel has claimed that 51 out of the party’s 53 MLAs in Maharashtra had urged Sharad Pawar to explore the possibility of allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed last year, reported PTI on Tuesday.

“If the NCP can form government with the Shiv Sena, why not with the BJP,” Patel told Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas in an interview.

The coalition government of the Shiv Sena, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party had collapsed in June last year after Eknath Shinde walked out of the Shiv Sena with a group of MLAs and partnered with the BJP.

On Sunday, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar delivered another blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition by siding with the Shinde-led government. Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister for the third time in less than four years.

Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP of the Nationalist Congress Party, who is among senior leaders who made the switch along with Ajit Pawar.

In his interview, Patel, who was considered close to Sharad Pawar, said that after last year’s developments, discussions had taken place within the Nationalist Congress Party about allying the BJP but they remained inconclusive.

“The NCP ministers wrote a letter to Sharad Pawar saying the party shouldn’t stay out of power,” he said, reported PTI. “There is no harm in exploring the possibility of joining the government.”

Patel also claimed that over 43 MLAs have extended their support to Ajit Pawar, reported The Times of India.

“It is not the case that we have happily taken the decision,” he added. “In politics, one has to take hard decisions.”

Besides Ajit Pawar, eight other Nationalist Congress Party MLAs – Dharmobaba Atram, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Anil Patil, Sanjay Bhansode – have been made ministers.

Sharad Pawar has disqualified his nephew, Ajit Pawar, other rebel ministers, Patel and party leader Sunil Tatkare from the outfit, reported NDTV. Nationalist Congress Party’s Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil has also approached Speaker Rahul Narwekar to disqualify the rebelling ministers from the Assembly.

In retaliation, Ajit Pawar has said his faction has also sent an application to the Speaker asking to disqualify Patil and Jitendra Awhad.

On Monday, Narwekar said that he was yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party is a part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government or the Opposition, reported PTI. The Speaker said that his office has received several representations from MLAs in connection with the recent developments.

“We will look into them, study their legality and then only take a decision,” he added.