Sena UBT's Sanjay Raut Raises Stink On Mahayuti's Monstrous Maharashtra Win, Alleges 'Conspiracy'

As the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance strengthened its lead in the Maharashtra assembly election, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed on Saturday morning that the early trends pointed to a conspiracy.

"I see a big conspiracy in this," he told reporters, as projections indicated a decisive victory for the BJP-led alliance.

Photo Credit: PTI

Raut stated that his party would not accept the results as the people's mandate.

"We don't accept this as people's mandate; something is fishy in the election results," he remarked.

"Even people must be wondering how to accept this mandate," he added.

The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that money had influenced the polls.

"How can all MLAs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde win? How can Ajit Pawar, whose betrayal angered Maharashtra, win?" he questioned.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Pravin Darekar criticised Raut's remarks.

"Sanjay Raut needs to land his aircraft on the ground... Maharashtra will further progress when there is a BJP government in the state and at the Centre," he said.

Darekar expressed confidence that Devendra Fadnavis would become Maharashtra's chief minister.

"This is the reason the public has voted for us. I especially thank the Ladli Behenas in the state. The CM will be of BJP; I think Devendra Fadnavis will be the CM," he added.

By 11:15 am, the BJP+ alliance was leading in 222 seats, while the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition was ahead in only 56.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, were leading in their respective constituencies after the first round of vote counting.

According to figures from the Election Commission, Shinde had a lead of 4,053 votes over his closest rival in the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly seat. Fadnavis was ahead by 2,246 votes in Nagpur South-West, while Pawar had a margin of 3,759 votes in Baramati.