Mumbai: In a dramatic turn of events just 24 hours before voting for the Maharashtra assembly election, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde was allegedly caught distributing cash at a hotel in Virar on Tuesday morning.
Bahujan Vikas Aghadi MLA Kshtij Thakur and his supporters stormed the hotel Tawde was in and displayed bundles of notes claiming they found them from his possessions. Chaotic scenes unfolded at the hotel with videos showing Tawde arguing with BVA workers who surrounded him before police personnel him out.
Thakur has his supporters claimed Tawde had Rs 5 crore at the hotel and they saw him distributing cash to people whose names he had written in two diaries. They further alleged that the main gate of the hotel was shut while the BJP leader conducted his dealings inside.
Watch:
MLA Kshitij Thakur took Vinod Tawde’s diary.
Hitendra Thakur demands action, alleging misuse of power.
Bahujan Vikas Aghadi workers locked the hotel room of Mr Vinod Tawade and not allowing him to go out. The huge crowd gathered outside the hotel. pic.twitter.com/9iKMBsN5q0— Pritesh Shah (@priteshshah_) November 19, 2024
In the Nalasopara constituency, currently represented by Thakur, the election sees a contest between BJP’s Rajan Naik and Congress’s Sandeep Pandey. Although the BVA extended support to the Mahayuti alliance with its three MLAs in 2019, BVA President Hitendra Thakur questioned the presence of an “outsider” politician in Virar following the close of campaigning.
According to BVA members, they received information about a meeting held by BJP leader Tawde at the Vivant Hotel in Manvelpada, attended by Naik and local BJP leaders.
The BVA has raised concerns over webcasting arrangements at all 507 polling booths in the Nalasopara constituency, which includes one of two critical polling booths in the Palghar district. Meanwhile, in the Vasai constituency, Kshitij Thakur is up against BJP candidate Sneha Dube, where 93% of the polling booths have been webcasted.
Thakur claimed that Tawde later called to apologise for his presence in Virar. He also urged police and election officials to investigate the alleged violation of the election code.
