Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 19: A day before the Maharashtra state Assembly go to the polls on Wednesday, a top BJP leader was accused of distributing cash to buy votes in one of the constituencies and the Election Commission officials admitted of recovering cash amount of about Rs 10 lakhs from the hotel the leader was staying.
While the opposition hanged on the alleged “exposure” of the BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde of “distributing cash” to charge the party with adopting unfair means to win the elections, the ruling BJP trashed the allegations and ridiculed the opposition charge claiming that Mr Tawde was at the hotel in Virar in Palghar district only to attend a meeting of the party workers to review preparations for Wednesday’s polling and had no connection with the cash recovered from the hotel.
But even as the BJP requested the ECI of “impartial inquiry” in to the allegations and demanded that the CCTV footage of the hotel during the period Mr Tawde was in the hotel be checked, the complainants said the hotel’s CCTV cameras were found switched off and re-started only when demanded by the complainants.
The allegation was levelled by a regional party, the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) which claimed to have caught “red-handed” the BJP candidate for the Nalasopara seat Rajan Naik distributing cash, allegedly to influence voters, in the presence of Mr Tawde. Mr Kshitij Thakur, the son of the BVA president Hitendra Thakur and sitting BVA MLA, reached the hotel with his supporters and high drama followed. The BVA supporters gheraoed Mr Tawde and raised slogans. They claimed that they found envelopes with cash and diaries at the meeting venue. An FIR has been registered in this connection.
Mr Hitendra Thakur alleged that a sum of ₹ 5 crore was distributed at the Vivanta Hotel in Virar. He said Mr Tawde had a diary that carried details of the cash. Speaking to reporters, Thakur claimed, “Some BJP leaders informed me that BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde is coming to Virar to disburse Rs 5 crore to influence voters. I thought a national leader like him would not stoop to such a trivial task. But I saw him here. I urge the Election Commission to take action against him and the BJP.”
The BVA legislator further alleged the hotel Tawde was staying had shut CCTV recording. “The hotel administration seems to be in cahoots with Tawde and the BJP. They only activated their CCTV after we requested it,” he said.
The Election Commission officials have also seized a total of Rs 9,93,900 in cash from the hotel where Tawde was staying. Additionally, an FIR was also registered against Tawde by the poll body for violating the model code of conduct. “Rs 9.93 lakh have been recovered from the hotel rooms (of Tawde). The police have registered an FIR in the matter,” an Election Commission (EC) official said.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, however claimed that the FIR was not related to the allegations of cash distribution. Clarifying the matter on X, he stated: “The FIR against BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde is not in the context of money, as is being circulated in the media and the opposition is saying. This action has been taken in the matter of appearing in another assembly constituency after the end of election campaign. One cannot go to another assembly constituency until 48 hours after the election campaign ends. This FIR has been filed for violation of the code of conduct.”
In response to the allegations, Mr Tawde denied the claims made by the BVA workers and called for an impartial investigation. “A meeting of workers was being held in the Nalasopara Assembly constituency, where we were explaining the election day code of conduct, such as how to seal the voting machines, how the final seal should be applied, and the necessary steps in case of objections. I had gone there to explain these points. However, the workers of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi believed we were distributing money. The Election Commission should conduct an inquiry, the police should investigate, and the CCTV footage should be examined. The Election Commission must carry out an impartial investigation,” Mr Tawde explained.
Workers of the BVA were seen protesting and raising slogans in Virar as they surrounded Tawde. They also claimed to have found a diary containing detailed records of the alleged cash distribution. A video has surfaced on social media in which BVA workers can be seen confronting Tawde outside the hotel where he was staying. A heavy police presence was called in to manage the situation.
The allegations have triggered an uproar, with reactions pouring in from across the state’s political spectrum. A video shared by the Congress party showed BVA supporters waving currency notes in front of Tawde. The Congress has shared the video from the hotel and accused the BJP of trying to use money power to influence the election. “Even top leaders are involved. The Election Commission should take note and strict action,” the Congress said in a post on X.
“BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde has been caught distributing money in a hotel in Maharashtra. Vinod Tawde had taken the money in a bag and was calling people there and distributing the money,” a rough translation of Congress’s tweet in Hindi suggested. “When the public came to know about this news, there was a huge uproar. Many videos of Vinod Tawde with money are coming out,” the party wrote, urging the Election Commission to take cognisance of the matter.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reposted the video and also dragged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his comment. He sarcastically remarked, “Modiji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public’s money and sent you in the tempo?”
NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule targeted the BJP over the dramatic episode. “Demonetisation was introduced by them, then where does this amount of cash come from? I am surprised that a senior leader like Vinod Tawde was involved in this – if this is true,” she said. “It is shocking that a national leader of such a big party is distributing money. This is very dangerous for any democracy. If people want to get elected by distributing money then what should people like us do? Is there morality in this country or not? I publicly condemn this distribution of money. It should be investigated.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray also said, “Based on the evidence, action should be taken. Otherwise, Maharashtra will take action on its own…” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said Uddhav Thackeray’s bags were checked multiple times but the “ones truly carrying the cash bags went unchecked”. “Today a lot of people stand exposed. Waiting to see what action will be taken on BJP and its General Secretary Vinod Tawde ji,” she said.
The BJP has trashed the allegations and termed them “baseless” and a political stunt by the BVA on the eve of elections. The party said Mr Tawde was at the hotel for a meeting with party workers to discuss poll preparations. The BJP has said the Election Commission must investigate the matter and scan CCTV footage to get to the root of the matter. “This is nothing but a gimmick,” a BJP leader said.
Kiran Kulkarni, Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra, has said they have received a complaint in this connection and necessary action will be taken.
Maharashtra votes on Wednesday in what is expected to be a very exciting electoral contest. In the last Assembly election, the NDA alliance of BJP and undivided Shiv Sena had scored a thumping victory, winning 161 seats in the 288-member Assembly. However, the long-time allies parted ways due to differences over rotational Chief ministership. Soon after, Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray tied up with the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
This government was toppled in 2022 when Eknath Shinde led a mutiny that split the Shiv Sena. The Shinde Sena joined hands with the BJP. Later, Ajit Pawar’s rebellion divided the NCP ranks too. The junior Pawar then joined the ruling coalition. In this election, the two factions of Shiv Sena and NCP are on opposite sides of the political divide, making it a prestige contest.
In the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, the Opposition bloc of Congress-Sena UBT-NCP (Sharad Pawar) scored big by winning 30 out of Maharashtra’s 48 seats. The Mahayuti won 17 seats. This time, the Maha Vikas Aghadi is looking to clinch a big win, while Mahayuti has gone all out to make a comeback from the Lok Sabha setback.