Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the Centre's move to ban onion export late last year was a mistake and the decision had cost the ruling Mahayuti alliance dearly in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, a major producer of the bulbous crop.

On December 8, 2023, the Central government banned export of onions till March 31, 2024, to curb price surge, drawing protests from farmers in the state. In March, the export ban was extended till further orders, but it was lifted in early May just days before polling in Maharashtra's onion belt.