Nalasopara: BJP accused of giving out cash for votes

The political temperature in Nalasopara reached a boiling point on the eve of the Maharashtra state Assembly elections as sitting MLA Kshitij Thakur and his supporters accused BJP heavyweight Vinod Tawde of distributing cash to sway voters in the constituency The allegations came after cash amounting to Rs 953 lakh was recovered at a hotelHundreds of Thakurrsquos supporters stormed a Virarbased hotel where Tawde was unexpectedly found present along with other BJP leaders in violation of the Model Code of Conduct MCC Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi BVA supremo Hitendra Thakur and his son Kshitij also arrived at the spot when the political hullabaloo was underway at Vivanta hotelPolice presence outside the hotelMeanwhile the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police and electoral officials swung into action registering three FIRs at Tulinj police station in Nalasopara East In one of the FIRs Vinod Tawde BJP candidate from Nalasopara constituency Rajan Naik and nearly two dozen workers of the saffron brigade have been booked under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita BNS and the RP Act for violating the MCCThe functionaries of BJP and BVA have also been booked for addressing the media at the crime spot while the MCC is in force ldquoAll of them have been served a noticerdquo said a police officer The dramatic situation unfolded after workers of the regional BVA stormed Virarbased Vivanta hotel where Tawde other BJP leaders and party workers were present The BVA workers claimed to have caught Tawde redhanded at the hotel where the BJP leader had allegedly arrived from Wada taluka in Palghar district said a sourceVivanta hotel in Virar EastldquoWhen we came to know that Tawde arrived in Virar we stormed the hotel and saw him with wads of cash diaries and other incriminating documents We informed the police as well as electoral officials to take legal actionrdquo said a source close to MLA Kshitij Thakur In a viral video Thakurrsquos supporters were seen hurling cash at the face of Tawde who looked visibly disturbed at the hotel in Virar EastldquoAll the CCTV cameras at the hotel were intentionally switched off while cash was being distributed among voters in Virar We caught them redhanded and have recovered several diaries containing incriminating details about the cash distributionrdquo a BVA worker told middayldquoThe unexpected storming by Thakur and his supporters had left Tawde and other BJP functionaries stunned at the hotel We have learnt that Tawde made around 25 unanswered calls to Vasai MLA and BVA Supremo Hitendra Thakur to safeguard him during the panic situationrdquo said a police officer requesting anonymityDocuments recovered by BVA party workers which allegedly indicate cash was distributedAnother BVA worker alleged that nearly 700 saffron brigade workers were brought to Nalasopara constituency to lure voters residing under different polling booths ldquoThese party workers spread in different polling booths in Nalasopara to entice poor people to vote for cash But we exposed them before it was too laterdquo alleged another BVA workerAfter the situation normalised the BJP as well as BVA functionaries started to address media persons but the electoral officials immediately stopped this and directed the local police to take action against the functionaries of both partiesldquoWe have registered two FIRs against Vinod Tawde and others A third FIR was registered against BJP and BVA functionaries for holding press conferences A notice has been served to not enter the area till November 23rdquo MBVV Police Commissioner Madhukar Pandey saidTawde called the charges against him baseless ldquoWhile returning to Mumbai from Wada in Palghar I received a call from Rajan Naik who invited me for tea at a hotel in Vasai where party workers had assembled We naturally discussed electionrelated matters particularly technical processes for polling dayrdquo he saidldquoSuddenly some people surrounded me shouting loudly I learned they were from BVA and contacted Hitendra Thakur He and BVA MLA Kshitij Thakur arrived at the hotel After a discussion I left with them in the same vehicle to defuse tensionsrdquo he addedTawde also called for examination of the hotelrsquos CCTV footage and an inquiry by the election commission The Opposition MVA slammed Tawde and BJP accusing both of indulging in ldquocashforvotesrdquo and ldquonote jihadrdquo