Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday pushed back against criticism of the NDA following its sweeping victory in Bihar, saying “the one who wins becomes the emperor,” and urging the Opposition to accept the verdict, acknowledge mistakes and introspect.

His remarks came after NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar questioned how the Election Commission allowed the Bihar government to distribute funds during the poll process under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana. The scheme allocates money to a woman member of each family for setting up a business.

When asked about Pawar's statement, Fadnavis said, "Aisa hain ki jo jeeta wohi Sikandar (the thing is that the one who wins becomes the emperor)." "After the defeat, one must accept the result, acknowledge the mistakes and engage in introspection. However, our Opposition does not want to do introspection," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

"People liked the schemes we (NDA) undertook and they voted for us," he said.

To a query on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement that the Bihar elections were not fair from the beginning, Fadnavis said until he introspects, his party will continue to face such humiliating defeats.

Gandhi junior on Friday termed the Bihar assembly poll results as "truly surprising", and said they could not achieve victory in the election that was "not fair from the very beginning".

On the reports that the Congress was gearing up to contest the upcoming civic elections in Mumbai on its own, the CM said whether they (opposition parties) contest together or separately, what really matters is the trust Mumbai's citizens have reposed in the Mahayuti (alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP).

"People have decided to elect Mahayuti's mayor...The way other parties want to contest elections is a matter of their choice," Fadnavis said.

Replying to a query about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's recent meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said it could be aimed at discussing state-related issues.

A controversy erupted last week over the alleged illegal sale of 40 acres of government land in Pune's Mundhwa area, reportedly worth around Rs 1,800 crore, which Opposition leaders claim was purchased by a company linked to Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar for Rs 300 crore with a stamp duty waiver.