Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinod Tawde was on Tuesday confronted by Bahujan Vikas Agadi supporters in a hotel in Palghar’s Virar and accused of distributing cash to influence voters, reported The Indian Express. The police intervened and escorted Tawde away.
Polling for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will take place in a single phase on Wednesday. The counting of votes will take place on Saturday, alongside that of the Jharkhand elections. Campaigning for the polls ended on Monday.
“Rs 9.93 lakh have been recovered from the hotel rooms [of Tawde],” the newspaper quoted an unnamed Election Commission official as saying.
The Election Commission has filed an FIR against Tawde, reported India Today.
The Bahujan Vikas Agadi claimed that a bag in Tawde’s possession contained a diary mentioning the distribution of Rs 15 crore cash. Party leader and MLA Hitendra Thakur alleged that Tawde arrived at the hotel in Virar with Rs 5 crore cash.
This came on the same day that Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader Suresh Padvi declared his support to Vinod Mendha, the BJP’s Assembly candidate from Palghar’s Dahanu seat, reported The Indian Express. Padvi was on Tuesday inducted into the Hindutva party in the presence of its Palghar chief Bharat Rajput, with less than 24 hours to go for the election.
Tensions broke out when Nalasopara MLA Kshitij Thakur, Hitendra Thakur’s son, allegedly snatched a diary containing details of the cash distribution from Tawde and questioned his presence in Virar after the official end of campaigning.
The Bahujan Vikas Agadi also expressed concern about the hotel’s dysfunctional CCTV cameras. “Action should be taken against the hotel as well,” Kshitij Thakur said. “The only reason why CCTV was closed down was that distribution of money was going on.”
Tawde maintained he had gone to the hotel to meet party workers, reported The Times of India.
“The Election Commission officials videographed the room,” he said. “For 40 years, I was in politics and never distributed money.”
Hitendra Thakur, Kshitij Thakur and Tawde reportedly left the hotel together.
The two parties agreed to hold a press conference with Hitendra Thakur, Kshitij Thakur, Tawde and BJP candidate Rajan Naik. However, Election Commission officials halted the event as it would violate the “silence period” a day before polling.
The police sealed the hotel following protests by Bahujan Vikas Agadi workers. At least three FIRs have been filed in connection with the allegations and the ensuing commotion.
Two of them are against Tawde, while at least one has been filed against Naik. The Bahujan Vikas Aghadi has been named in one FIR.
“The BJP and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi workers were present on different floors [of the hotel],” Vasai Deputy Commissioner of Police Pournima Chougule told ANI. “Some amount of money and a few diaries have been recovered from here. Two FIRs have been registered, and a third FIR is also being lodged for holding a press conference illegally.”
Nalasopara election officer Shekhar Ghadge confirmed that cash was seized at the hotel during a search, but added that it would not impact the election, reported India Today.
Congress leaders Sandeep Pandey and Vijay Patil demanded police action against Tawde.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut wrote on X: “The BJP’s scheme has come to an end. Thakur has done what the Election Commission should have done.”
BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar rejected the allegations. “Vinod Tawde is a national general secretary,” he said. “Is he going to distribute money at ward levels? Such claims are absurd.”
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