Congress has demanded action against Tawde and hoped that the Election Commission will not look the other way this time.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – On the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, senior BJP leader and General Secretary Vinod Tawde faced allegations on Tuesday of distributing cash to influence votes in Mumbai’s Vasai-Virar constituency.
Activists from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) confronted him, claiming Rs 5 crore was being distributed, with a diary allegedly detailing disbursements recovered from the scene.
The incident has sparked a political storm as videos of money distribution started circulating widely on social media.
According to media reports, the incident occurred at a hotel in Virar and led to a clash between BJP and BVA supporters. Police confirmed recovering a significant sum of money and are investigating the source and allegations of electoral malpractice. The Election Commission is expected to review the matter under the Model Code of Conduct.
BVA leaders allege that the BJP was engaged in unethical practices to secure victory in the assembly elections. They claim Tawde was distributing money among party workers and voters to sway the election results in favour of the BJP.
“The BJP has stooped to new lows by trying to buy votes,” a senior BVA leader alleged during the clash. “We have evidence, including a diary, which details the disbursement of funds,” he said, reports Mid-Day.
The police have yet to confirm the contents of the diary, but they have stated that an investigation is underway to verify the allegations.
Tawde has denied the accusations despite a video going viral of BVA workers storming into the VivantaHotel in Nalasopara during a meeting between the BJP leader and RajanNaik, the BJP candidate from the assembly seat.
In the video, the workers are seen taking bundles of cash out of a bag, while Tawde is sitting at a distance. They also proceed to take pictures and videos of him on their phone, while he seems to be indicating that the bag does not belong to him.
BVA leader Hitendra Thakur told the media that Tawde apologised and requested his help to get out of the hotel.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident, which has heightened political tensions ahead of the elections. The BJP, however, has denied the accusations, calling them politically motivated.
The Election Commission of India has been informed about the incident and is expected to review the matter closely, according to reports reaching here. Under the Model Code of Conduct, bribing voters or distributing cash for electoral gains is a punishable offence.
Meanwhile, Congress has demanded action against Tawde and hoped that the Election Commission will not look the other way this time.
At a press conference here on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson and the Chairperson of the Social and Digital Media Platforms Supriya Shrinate warned that the brazen use of money would undermine the vote of Maharashtra and the people of the state. She expressed the hope that the voters in Maharashtra will not take this lying down