A day before the high-stakes Assembly polls in Maharashtra, the state's BJP general secretary, Vinod Tawde was on Tuesday accused by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) of distributing cash for votes in Palghar district.Tawde has denied the accusations despite a video going viral of BVA workers storming into the Vivanta Hotel in Nalasopara during a meeting between the BJP leader and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Assembly seat.The party has accused the BJP leader of carrying Rs 5 crore in the bag.
BVA MLA and candidate from Nalasopara Kshitij Thakur also alleged that diaries containing sensitive information were found in Tawde's possession.Addressing the media, Tawde dismissed the allegations as baseless. “BVA is our ally, yet they are accusing me of distributing money. Kshitij Thakur knows me well—I have dedicated 40 years to my party. I was returning to Nalasopara from Wada and attended a meeting with party workers to explain the code of conduct for election day. A misunderstanding has led to these claims,” he said.
Tawde further clarified, “I have nothing to hide. Let the police, CCTV footage, and other investigations verify the facts. Leaders like Hitendra Thakur and Kshitij Thakur also joined the discussion. If money distribution had taken place, the authorities would have already acted. My purpose was to guide party workers on procedural matters like signing election documents and raising valid objections during the polling process.”Hitendra Thakur has also alleged that they recovered two diaries from Tawde, besides the cash. 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 police have sealed the hotel and are trying to get the BJP leader out amid protests by the BVA workers demanding Tawde's immediate arrest. Commenting on the development, the Opposition Congress slammed the BJP, saying that it leaders were "busy influencing the elections using money".It urged the Election Commission to take note of the incident and take strict action. In the Vasai constituency, a stronghold of independent candidates, seven contenders are vying for the seat, with the spotlight on three key figures: incumbent MLA Hitendra Thakur of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), Congress leader Vijay Patil, and Sneha Dube of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Vasai, part of Palghar's six Assembly constituencies (Dahanu, Vikramgad, Palghar, Boisar, Nalasopara, and Vasai), will go to polls on November 20 in a single phase, with results announced on November 23.