A day before Maharashtra heads to the polls, political tensions peaked in Virar as Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) workers confronted BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, accusing him of distributing cash to sway voters.
The altercation unfolded at a Virar hotel, where BVA workers claimed Tawde was caught red-handed with cash. According to the BVA, a bag in Tawde’s possession allegedly contained a diary referencing the distribution of ₹15 crore. Hitendra Thakur, the BVA MLA from Vasai-Virar, further alleged that Tawde had arrived with ₹5 crore in cash.
The situation escalated when Kshitij Thakur, the Nalasopara MLA and Hitendra Thakur’s son, reportedly seized the diary detailing the purported cash distribution. He questioned Tawde’s presence in Virar after the campaign deadline had passed on Monday evening.
In a post on X, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MP Sanjay Raut took a swipe at the BJP, writing, “BJP’s game is crazy! Thakurani did the job that the Election Commission should have done! The Election Commission is busy checking our bags and tails here!”
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The BVA also raised questions about the hotel’s non-functional CCTV cameras, calling for action against the establishment for allegedly facilitating suspicious activities.
BJP’s reacts
The BJP strongly denied the accusations, calling them baseless and politically driven. Senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar dismissed the claims, saying, “Vinod Tawde is a national general secretary. Is he going to distribute money at ward levels? Such claims are absurd.”
Atul Bhatkhalkar, another BJP leader, labelled the accusations as part of a “false narrative” crafted by opposition parties staring at electoral defeat. He accused rivals of orchestrating a smear campaign to tarnish the BJP’s image.