The Bharatiya Janata Party’s slogan about securing 400 seats in this year’s Lok Sabha election may have damaged the electoral prospects of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, state minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal said on Tuesday, according to The Indian Express.

The Mahayuti alliance comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party faction headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

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Bhujbal is a part of the Nationalist Congress Party faction headed by Ajit Pawar.

Addressing party members during a meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday, Bhujbal said that the claim of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance winning more than 400 seats had sparked fears among Dalits that it may change the Constitution if voted to power.

“The persistent rhetoric surrounding ‘400 paar’ led Dalits to fear an impending constitutional amendment under BJP governance,” Bhujbal said, according to The Indian Express. “Addressing this concern during the campaign proved to be quite challenging for us.”

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The minister added that reports of the state government planning to include verses from the Hindu scripture Manusmriti in the proposed Maharashtra State Curriculum Framework were a matter of concern and warned that doing so could damage the ruling alliance electorally.

“This initiative must be halted,” Bhujbal said. “Though seemingly insignificant now, it could pose future challenges.”

Manusmriti is a Hindu scripture authored by an ascetic named Manu. The text has been widely criticised for its gender and caste-based codes.

In recent months, Bhujbal has expressed political opinions contrary to the state government’s policies on several occasions. In January, he had claimed that the Maharashtra government was giving Marathas “backdoor entry” into reservations in goverment education and jobs by diluting the existing quota meant for Other Backward Classes.