Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar yesterday claimed that late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde wanted to join Congress along with his party MLAs, but then prime minister Manmohan Singh advised him against engineering a “split” in the BJP.

“Munde was ready to quit BJP and join Congress with legislators Pasha Patel, Madhuri Misal, Prakash Shendge, and daughter Pankaja,” the nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said.