In Maharashtra, a fresh controversy over cash distribution during the ongoing elections has surfaced, with the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) accusing BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde of attempting to bribe voters in the Virar East constituency. BVA workers alleged that Tawde had brought Rs 5 crore in cash for distribution to voters, an accusation that has been strongly denied by the BJP.
The allegations came to light when police, along with Election Commission (EC) officials, recovered around Rs 9 lakh in cash during a party meeting in Virar on Tuesday. Tawde, however, rejected the charges, claiming that the meeting was intended to discuss the Model Code of Conduct and the procedures for the election day, such as sealing voting machines and handling objections. He suggested that the BVA leaders, Appa Thakur and Kshitij, mistakenly assumed the money was being distributed to buy votes.
“I have been part of the party for 40 years, and the workers in question know me well. The Election Commission and police are free to investigate. Let them review the CCTV footage and conduct an impartial inquiry,” Tawde said. He added that the allegations were unfounded and reiterated his belief in a fair investigation.
In a related development, another accusation of cash-for-vote emerged from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where Uddhav Sena leader Ambadas Danve claimed that Shiv Sena workers, associated with CM Shinde’s faction, were offering money in exchange for voter IDs. According to Danve, people were being paid between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 for their voter IDs, and their fingers were marked with ink, indicating attempts to influence voting outcomes. Danve further alleged that the police had been passive in investigating these complaints, with some officers even helping the Shiv Sena candidate in the Aurangabad West constituency, where the election battle between Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat and Uddhav’s Raju Shinde is intensifying.
In response to these claims, police confirmed the arrest of two individuals in connection with a case in which a voter had received money for handing over his voter ID and Aadhaar card. This incident, along with Tawde’s controversy, underscores the increasing tensions and allegations of corruption in the ongoing Maharashtra elections.
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