Amid reports that the Nationalist Congress Party chiefSharad Pawar was willing to “wait it out” before staking claim to form thegovernment in Maharashtra, his nephew and senior party leader Ajit Pawar saidwhatever decision is taken by his party and pre-poll ally Congress will be‘collective’.

“Whatever decision will be taken will be taken collectively,so we were waiting for Congress response yesterday but it didn’t come, we can’tdecide on it alone. There is no misunderstanding, we contested together and aretogether,” said Ajit Pawar, MLA from the Baramati constituency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s erstwhile ally Shiv Sena, NCPand the Congress are in talks to explore the possibility of forming thegovernment in the state after the BJP failed to take up the Governor’s inviteto form government in Maharashtra where assembly election results wereannounced on October 24.

The Congress , it is believed, is keen that each and everydetail should be discussed before backing a Sena-led ruling arrangement.

The BJP and the Sena contested the assembly electionstogether and won with 105 and 56 seats respectively, but were unable to come toan agreement on government formation.

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari invited the NCPto form the government on Monday evening and gave it 24 hours to cobbletogether a majority after the Shiv Sena failed to secure enough numbers withinthe deadline prescribed by him, prolonging the fortnight-long political impassein the state. The Sena was invited by the governor on Sunday evening.

Koshyari had invited the BJP to form the government onSaturday but a day later, the party ditched its bid after it became clear thatthe Sena would not budge from its demand on rotational CM and key cabinetberths.