The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena's MP, Sanjay Raut, claimed that it was a BJP MLC who leaked the audio tape, where a woman, purportedly a BJP leader, was heard saying that Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde received ?500 crore from the BJP to "manage" Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil during the 2024 elections. The BJP has hit back, claiming that it was the UBT Sena that manufactured the tape to create discord between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Shinde.