Mumbai: Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant on Thursday said his party's priority would be to keep the BJP "out of power" in Maharashtra.

As per trends available for 283 of the 288 Assembly seats in the state, the BJP was leading in 99, the Shiv Sena in 61, the NCP in 49, the Congress in 41 and Independents were ahead in 15 seats.

As counting of votes was underway, Sawant in a tweet said, "Congress' priority would be to keep BJP out of power."

However, Congress' campaign committee member Sanjay Lakhe Patil criticised Sawant over his tweet.

"This is political bankruptcy and foolishness. The Congress should stay away from such political suicide.

Instead, the party should be a strong opposition force and win back the confidence of people," Lakhe Patil said in a post on his Facebook page.

The Congress should hold the Fadnavis government "accountable" for the promises made during campaigning, he added.