Sanjay Raut (left) accused the Mahayuti of engineering withdrawals to ensure uncontested wins in the Maharashtra MLC elections. BJP's Navnath Ban (right) denied the allegations. (Credit: File photo. Screengrab from video on X/@PTI_News)A day after candidates backed by the ruling Mahayuti secured unopposed victories in five Maharashtra Legislative Council constituencies, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged that nearly Rs 150 crore was spent to engineer withdrawals and ensure uncontested wins.The BJP rejected the charge, calling it baseless, and accused the Opposition of trying to deflect attention from its inability to retain its own candidates.Raut claimed that large sums of money were used to secure withdrawals in several constituencies. “Throughout the day, efforts to secure unopposed victories and the drama surrounding withdrawals cost at least Rs 150 crore in a single day. Opposition horses themselves came to the market and fixed their own price. The transactions that took place in Konkan, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune are dangerous for democracy,” Raut said.Raut’s remarks came after the withdrawal of nominations resulted in five of the 17 Local Authorities constituencies witnessing unopposed victories for Mahayuti-backed candidates.Also Read | Amid Mahayuti rumblings, Shiv Sena rebels withdraw from MLC fray as tensions simmerWhile NCP’s Aniket Tatkare and Vikram Kakade were elected unopposed from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Pune, respectively, Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Phatak was elected from Thane-Palghar, Shiv Sena’s Dushyant Chaturvedi from Yavatmal and BJP’s Arun Lakhani from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli.Several Opposition candidates withdrew before the deadline, including Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Bal Mane in Konkan, NCP (SP)’s Shrikant Patil in Pune, and NCP (SP)’s Abhijit Pawar in Thane-Palghar.‘Mahayuti connects with people through trust, not money’Responding to Raut’s allegations, BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban said the Opposition was making excuses after failing to keep its own leaders and workers together. “People are not retained through money but through affection and human relations. Raut and his leadership have failed to retain both workers and leaders. The BJP and Mahayuti connect with people through trust, not money,” Ban said.Story continues below this adHe also questioned Raut over the Opposition’s handling of the Nashik constituency. “If Sanjay Raut was the party’s in-charge for Nashik, why did they not field a candidate despite having nomination forms? Before making allegations against others, he should explain what happened in Nashik,” Ban said.Also Read | Seat sharing deals are done but alliance parties yet to declare all candidatesRejecting allegations of horse-trading, Ban said Mahayuti enjoyed a clear numerical advantage in local bodies across the state and did not need to resort to such practices. “Mahayuti has the numbers. We have the support of the largest number of corporators, Zilla Parishad members and Panchayat Samiti members. We do not need horse-trading to win these elections,” he said.Ban also took a swipe at the Opposition over a series of withdrawals and described the Maha Vikas Aghadi as a “Maghar Vikas Aghadi (Withdrawal Development Alliance)”.Withdrawals across the stateIn Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Bal Mane withdrew, paving the way for NCP candidate Aniket Tatkare’s election. In Pune, NCP (SP) candidate Shrikant Patil and BJP rebel Pradeep Kand withdrew, enabling NCP’s Vikram Kakade to win unopposed. In Thane-Palghar, NCP (SP) candidate Abhijit Pawar withdrew, resulting in Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Phatak being elected unopposed.Story continues below this adIn Yavatmal, Congress candidate Sahebrao Kamble and independent Syed Farooq withdrew, clearing the path for Shiv Sena’s Dushyant Chaturvedi. In Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli, Congress candidate Shailesh Kumar Agrawal and Independent Sudhir Kothari withdrew, leading to BJP’s Arun Lakhani being elected unopposedThe withdrawals came even as Mahayuti leaders managed to persuade several rebels to withdraw from the race. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Sameer Sattar, son of Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar, withdrew his nomination after meetings with senior alliance leaders. In Nashik, BJP rebel Ganesh Gite also withdrew, although Independent candidate Gokul Gite remained in the fray.Polling for the remaining 12 constituencies will be held on June 18. Votes will be counted on June 22.