New Delhi: A day before the high-stakes Assembly polls in Maharashtra, the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) accused the state’s BJP general secretary, Vinod Tawde on Tuesday of distributing cash for votes in Palghar district.
The BVA, led by Vasai MLA Hitendra Thakur, has a strong presence in the district. It has three MLAs in the Vasai, Nalasopara, and Boisar seats. While Hitendra Thakur is contesting from Vasai, his son Kshitij is standing from Nalasopara, and sitting MLA Rajesh Patil from Boisar. The party is contesting the Assembly polls independently.
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. 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.
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. Currently, Hitendra and Kshitij Thakur are still inside the hotel premises, as well as Tawde, who is on the fourth floor, India Today reported.
