High drama unfolded a day ahead of Maharashtra Assembly polls as workers of a regional party gheraoed BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, accusing him of distributing cash to influence voters in Palghar. While Tawde has denied the allegations, the Election Commission has filed an FIR against the senior BJP leader over cash-for-vote allegations.Reacting on Bahujan Vikas Aghadi accusing BJP's Vinod Tawde of distributing money ahead of Maharashtra polls, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi used the incident to take a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's"ek hain toh safe hain (if we are one, we are safe)" slogan. "Modi ji, from whose SAFE did these Rs 5 crore come? Who looted the public's money and sent you in the tempo?" Gandhi tweeted.
A video that has gone viral shows Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) workers storming into the Vivanta Hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara Assembly seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.The video shows the workers of the BVA taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde indicates that it does not belong to him.BVA leader Prashant Raut alleged that Tawde was hiding in the kitchen as party workers entered the hotel. The party also claimed that the hotel had shut down CCTV recordings.The BVA, led by Vasai MLA Hitendra Thakur, has a strong presence in Palghar district. It has three MLAs in the Assembly. While Hitendra Thakur is contesting from Vasai, his son Kshitij has been fielded from Nalasopara.
Hitendra Thakur has also alleged that they recovered two diaries from the bag. However, there were no details of the diaries' content. The BVA leader told a local Marathi channel that Tawde apologised and requested his help to get out of the hotel.The Congress slammed the BJP, saying that its leaders were "busy influencing the elections using money". It urged the Election Commission to take note of the incident and take strict action. The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will take place on November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.