Mumbai, June 4 (IANS) Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday levelled serious allegations of horse-trading, claiming that a massive Rs 150 crore deal took place to force Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates to withdraw their nominations for the Legislative Council elections slated for June 18.

The allegations came on the final day for withdrawal of nominations, a day marked by dramatic developments and setbacks for the MVA in Sambhajinagar. After the deadline expired, Raut made a sensational claim regarding a transaction in Mumbai.

“Key candidates were paid at least Rs 25 crore each. A major financial deal took place yesterday at the Sofitel Hotel in Mumbai. Following this, a candidate withdrew from the race in Raigad, Konkan. Similarly, one of our candidates withdrew in Sambhajinagar under identical circumstances,” he alleged.

He said money and power had been used to manipulate withdrawals, adding that heavy financial transactions had taken place behind the scenes to make candidates back out.

Raut further revealed that, as a result of these unauthorised actions, the Shiv Sena (UBT) expelled Bala Mane from Konkan and Devayani Dongaonkar from Sambhajinagar.

The Thackeray faction had fielded Bala Mane from the Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Legislative Council constituency. However, his eleventh-hour withdrawal left the party stranded without a candidate.

Taking stringent disciplinary action, the party expelled him. In another jolt, Devayani Dongaonkar, who was given the party’s ticket from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna constituency, also unexpectedly withdrew her nomination.

“This will not be tolerated in our party. How can anyone withdraw their nomination without the permission of the party chief or the leadership? Interestingly, the very people who struck these deals were the ones who informed us about the transactions,” Raut added, warning that this practice of corrupting the state and the country is extremely dangerous.

Reflecting on the party’s strategy, the Rajya Sabha MP said that while they knew they lacked the necessary numbers, several party workers had filed nominations on leadership instructions to ensure the elections did not go uncontested.

He expressed regret over the developments, stating that the nominations should have been maintained until the very end.

He alleged that the ruling alliance was desperate to ensure unopposed elections and resorted to various means to achieve it, including attempts to “buy out” opposition candidates, which succeeded in a few places.

Thursday was the final day for candidates to withdraw their nominations for the upcoming Legislative Council elections. While top leaders across party lines were actively trying to pacify rebels and dissidents, succeeding in several places, the sudden withdrawal of key MVA candidates has shifted the political narrative in Maharashtra.

Raut’s explosive allegations have now intensified the standoff between the opposition and the ruling alliance.

–IANS

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