Maharashtra Legislative Council polls: BJP asks Shiv Sena (UBT) to back ‘horse-trading’ allegations with proof

Ban said if Raut had any evidence supporting allegations of horse-trading in the MLC polls, he should make it public.

“My question to Sanjay Raut is that he did not even fill the nomination papers of his party’s candidate elected from Nashik local government constituency. How much money did Raut get for not fielding a candidate?

“Is he involved in corrupt practices? Raut needs to answer these questions first because he is handling Sena’s (UBT) affairs in north Maharashtra. Nashik is a part of that district, so Raut himself should be held responsible for such transactions,” he said.
On Friday morning, Raut took X to say that the “meddling” for the unopposed elections and the retreat drama for that purpose on Thursday had cost at least “Rs 150 crore in a single day”. The opposition party’s horses themselves came to the market in Maharashtra, setting their own prices for the same; “There was a huge amount of money at stake,” he wrote.

Mahayuti will win five of the 17 seats unopposed in this month’s council elections, as opposition candidates in these constituencies withdrew their candidacies before the end of Thursday. He also successfully persuaded the rebels to back down on the final day when nominations were withdrawn.

Ban said the ruling alliance candidates have sufficient support from elected representatives of local bodies in Maharashtra and there is no need to delay any incentives to ensure victory in the council elections.

“Take any district of Maharashtra; there are more corporators and elected members of municipal council and nagar panchayat in BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena. It was very easy for our candidates to get elected. Why would anyone exchange money for votes when voters and candidates are from the same party?” he asked.

The BJP leader said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi made big claims when the elections were announced. He suggested that Raut should instead seek answers from Harshvardhan Sapkal, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, on what he claimed was withdrawal of Congress candidates from some constituencies.

“Raut should ask Harshvardhan Sapkal why Congress candidates withdrew from some constituencies in the state on their own. Did some financial transactions in the Congress take place behind closed doors?” Ban asked.

He said Raut should produce concrete evidence before making allegations of corruption against the BJP or the Mahayuti alliance.

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