Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban on Friday challenged Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut to make public any evidence backing his allegations of "horse trading" in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.Ban accused Raut of levelling baseless charges against the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena, calling him a "habitual liar".Read more: NCP (SP) alleges Rs 24,300 crore loss in Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin schemeIf Raut has any proof supporting his allegations of horse trading in the MLC polls, he must make it public, Ban said."My question to Sanjay Raut is that his own party's selected candidate from the Nashik local authorities constituency did not even file nomination papers. How much money did Raut take for not fielding a candidate?"Did he indulge in some corrupt practice? Raut should first respond to these questions because he takes care of Sena (UBT) affairs in north Maharashtra. Nashik is part of that region, so Raut himself should be held responsible for such transactions," he said.On Friday morning, Raut took the X to say that the "scramble" for unopposed elections and the drama of withdrawals on Thursday for that purpose cost at least "Rs 150 crore in a single day"."The opposition party's horses themselves came to the market in Maharashtra, having set their own price for this-there's an enormous amount of money involved," he wrote.The Mahayuti is set to win five of the 17 seats unopposed in this month's council elections, as the opposition candidates in these constituencies withdrew their nominations before the deadline ended on Thursday. It also successfully persuaded rebels to back down on the last day of withdrawal of nominations.Ban said the ruling alliance candidates have sufficient support from elected representatives of local bodies across Maharashtra and do not need to dangle any inducements to secure victory in the council elections."You take any region of Maharashtra, the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena have a larger number of corporators and elected members of municipal councils and nagar panchayats. It was very easy for our candidates to get elected. Why would anyone trade money for votes when the voters and candidates are from the same party?" he asked.The BJP leader said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi had made tall claims when the elections were announced. He suggested that Raut should instead seek answers from Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshvardhan Sapkal about what he claimed was the withdrawal of Congress candidates from some constituencies."Raut should ask Harshvardhan Sapkal why Congress candidates withdrew on their own from some constituencies in the state. Did some financial transactions take place behind closed doors in Congress?" Ban asked.He said Raut should present concrete evidence before making allegations of corruption against the BJP or the Mahayuti alliance.Read more: Maharashtra cabinet clears proposal to avail USD 50 cr AIIB loan for rural roads scheme under Gram Sadak YojanaElections to 16 legislative council seats from the local self-government bodies and a bypoll from the Nagpur self-government body are scheduled for June 18, and votes will be counted on June 22. Members of local self-government bodies comprise the electoral college for these polls.