CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR – The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul (AIMIM) on Thursday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had distributed cash ranging from Rs 500-Rs 2000 to people in the Aurangabad East Assembly constituency on the eve of yesterday’s voting.
AIMIM state President Imtiaz Jaleel posted videos of the alleged ‘cash-for-vote’ incident carried out by purported supporters of the BJP nominee Atul M. Save during the polling on Tuesday. Jaleel – who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – is contesting from the Aurangabad East seat and is pitted against BJP’s two-term MLA and a minister in the MahaYuti regime Save, now making his third attempt here.
“A BJP leader came to distribute cash at a slum area of Ambedkar Nagar here and he was surrounded by women for Rs 500 notes each… All this was an ‘advance’ to cast their votes for Save,” said an agitated Jaleel before media persons.
Tagging the Election Commission of India (ECI), he said that the visuals (above) are only from one locality, and similar instances took place in at least three areas there with cash ranging from Rs 500-Rs.2000 handed out to the locals. “These are the visuals. What more evidence do you need? The election in this Aurangabad East constituency has been unfair. Stern action should be taken against Save and his goons,” thundered Jaleel.
The AIMIM leader has claimed that after giving the cash to mostly the poor and women of the minority community here, Save’s supporters allegedly inked their fingers, indicating that they had already ‘cast’ their votes.
When AIMIM workers led by him raised objections to the cash handouts, Jaleel said that some BJP activists allegedly pushed him around and tried to get into a scuffle as the MahaYuti government had ‘spread an atmosphere of fear’ in the constituency.
The AIMIM has named certain BJP local leaders who brought many Muslim women in autorickshaws, applied the indelible ink on their left-hand fore-fingers and allegedly handed them Rs 1000 each, and those demanding more were given Rs 2000.
Jaleel demanded that the police and ECI should check the CCTV footage in the vicinity as the incident happened outside the BJP office opposite the Jawahar Nagar Police Station. –IANS
