Mumbai, Nov 23 (IANS) As the MahaYuti was leading massively in Maharashtra and the Maha Vikas Aghadi was headed for a shocking rout, Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Sanjay Raut refused to accept the results saying this was not the voters’ mandate.

He said, "The Lok Sabha election results were not acceptable, so also the Assembly results. This is not voters’ mandate," he claimed.

Raut’s statement comes when Maha Vikas Aghadi is struggling to even reach the 100 mark. Raut along with other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders, including NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat and Vijay Wadettiwar, till this morning, were expressing confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi will form the government defeating the MahaYuti alliance. However, the present trends are showing a completely different picture.

As the counting was underway, BJP Minister and party candidate Chandrakant Patil said the party will welcome the Shiv Sena(UBT) Uddhav Thackeray in MahaYuti if he regrets parting ways with BJP after the 2019 Assembly elections to join hands with the Congress-NCP to form the government. "We will welcome him to the MahaYuti. However, his entry will not be needed to shore up numbers for the MahaYuti which is in a comfortable position to form the next government in the state," he added.

Patil said the voters have voted in a big way for the MahaYuti alliance for its work done during the last two and half years. "The top leadership of BJP and leaders of MahaYuti will decide who will be the next chief minister," he added.

Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat is trailing in third position from his home turf Sangamner constituency. Incidentally, Thorat was one of the front runners from the Congress party for the chief minister’s post.

The Cooperation Minister and NCP nominee, Dilip Walse-Patil was leading by 2,814 votes after nine rounds against NCP(SP) nominee Devdutt Nikam. State NCP(SP) president Jayant Patil was leading by 1,728 votes after the sixth round against NCP nominee Nishikant Patil.

In Sangli district, apart from Jayant Patil, the NCP(SP) nominees Rohit Patil was leading from Tasgaon and Mansingh Naik from Shirala respectively while Congress nominee Vishwajeet Kadam was ahead in Paul’s-Kadegaon, BJP nominee Gopichand Padalkar from Jat, Suresh Khade from Miraj and Sudhir Gadgil from Sangli seats respectively while Shiv Sena nominee Suhas Babar was leading in Kharagpur.

NCP nominee and former Minister Nawab Malik was trailing from Mankhurd-Shivajinagar against SP nominee Abu Azmi. Malik's daughter and NCP candidate Sana Malik was also trailing in Anushakti Nagar against NCP(SP)'s Farhad Ahmed.