Mumbai: Sharad Pawar, who has weathered in both national and state politics for decades, said mid-terms polls were likely in the state.
The seasoned leader's prediction comes in the wake of the new government led by Eknath Shinde is taking over the slacks from Uddhav Thackeray.
Addressing the NCP legislators he reportedly said the new government might not last more than six months, according to NDTV.
He asked his party to get ready for the mid-term polls, predicting the coalition government a short life.
The collapse of the government will set in once the ministerial portfolios are distributed among the rebels, causing unhappiness among them.
The disgruntled ones will return to the original party as the coalition experiment fails, he pointed out.
He told NCP legislators that they have six months in their hands to cash in on the opportunity.
Eknath Shinde came in power on Thursday following the collapse of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis being Shinde's deputy.
A couple of weeks ago, only a handful lawmakers came out supporting Shinde causing a rift in the party which widened as more lawmakers crossed over to Shinde camp, toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government.