The Election Commission of India has filed an FIR against Vinod Tawde, the General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra for allegedly distributing cash for votes just one day ahead of the state's Assembly polls.
According to a PTI report, a police official confirmed that two FIRs have been registered at the Tulinj police station in connection with the incident. "In the first FIR, 22 people, including BJP leader Vinod Tawde, BJP candidate from Nalasopara Rajan Naik, and party office-bearer Manoj Barot have been named, while 200 to 250 unidentified party workers shown as accused for illegally assembling on the fifth floor of the hotel and holding a meeting, thereby violating the election code of conduct. In another FIR, 34 others, including Tawde, Naik, and Barot, were named as accused along with 200 to 250 unidentified party workers. They were accused of violating the poll code for allegedly luring people by offering cash and alcohol to them," he said.
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The allegations, made by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), claim that Tawde was caught distributing money to voters in the Palghar district. The incident occurred in Nalasopara, where Tawde was reportedly meeting BJP workers at the Vivanta Hotel.
BVA, led by Vasai MLA Hitendra Thakur, posted a video showing party workers allegedly seizing bundles of cash from Tawde's bag during the meeting. In the video, Tawde can be seen sitting at a distance while BVA workers take pictures and videos of the scene.
Thakur, whose party is contesting the elections independently, demanded immediate action, claiming that Tawde was carrying Rs 5 crore in cash, intended to influence voters ahead of the polls. The BVA, which currently holds three seats in the district—Vasai, Nalasopara, and Boisar—has accused the BJP of resorting to bribery to sway voter sentiment.
However, Vinod Tawde has denied all the allegations and asserted that the meeting in question was strictly related to election procedures. “We were discussing how voting machines are sealed and the process for raising objections. However, the workers of the BVA thought that we were distributing money,” news agency ANI quoted Tawde.
Tawde later shared a post on X asserting his innocence in the matter. “Rahul Gandhi, Supriya Tai, or whoever wants to make allegations should first come and check the CCTV. Drinking tea with your workers is not a crime. Whoever wants to create a ruckus, let them do so. The truth will not change by creating a ruckus. I have been in politics for 40 years and the issue of money has never come up in my life, the world knows this. Tomorrow the people of Maharashtra will definitely give the answer to all these to the Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he wrote.
Taking a jibe at the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray took to the media to accuse the BJP of engaging in a “note jihad” to win votes.
“Is this BJP's note jihad (for votes)? 'Baatenge aur jitenge' (distribute money to win). Entire Maharashtra has seen it (a video showing bundles of cash). Maharashtra will decide tomorrow,” he mocked the party while speaking to the reporters. “Tawde was lauded for toppling governments in some states. Now the secret behind this has come out in the open,” he further said.
Thackeray's comments appeared to target the BJP's rhetoric, which included claims by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging voters to counter “vote jihad” with a “Dharmayuddha of votes.”
The District collector and election officer Govind Bodke said that some BVA members claimed that many BJP people were distributing cash at the hotel, after which a team of election officials and police went to the hotel and carried out an inspection. The team seized Rs 9,93,500 in cash and some documents, he said.
Following the discovery of the cash and a ruckus of over three hours at the hotel, it was decided that a joint press conference of Hitendra Thakur, his son Kshitij, Tawde and BJP’s candidate Rajan Naik would be held at the hotel. However, the poll officials said that it was illegal to hold a press conference at that time and stopped the same the moment it began.
“The bag which was later seized by the officials was with Tawde’s PA and contained cash and diaries mentioning the names of recipients and amount to be given to them,” BVA activist Mithun Shah, who was seen confronting Tawde at the hotel in the viral videos, claimed.
However, BJP leader Pravin Darekar denied Shah's claims and said, “The MVA has already lost the game. They are destined for defeat in this election, which is why they are making such absurd allegations against us."
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has also accused the BJP of misusing government machinery and distributing money to buy votes.
All 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra are set to cast votes in a single phase on November 20. Polling will begin at 7 am and go on till 6 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23.
