Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday alleged that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was campaigning in Karnataka's Belagavi on the instructions of the Congress in a bid to cut the BJP's votes.

Fadnavis was speaking to reporters in Belagavi district, which has a significant population of Marathi-speaking people and has been a bone of contention between the two neighbouring states - Maharashtra and Karnataka - for decades.