The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today, arrested one person in the alleged "cash for vote" case. It is learned that the accused was trying to flee to Dubai. The development comes a day after a huge political controversy rocked Maharashtra on Tuesday on the eve of high-stakes assembly elections after a regional outfit alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Vinod Tawde was distributing cash to voters, prompting the police to file three first information reports (FIRs) against the senior leader and the party to launch a strong defence against attacks from the Opposition.
Tawde, a Maratha leader seen as a potential candidate for the chief minister’s post, was meeting the BJP candidate from Nalasopara, Rajan Naik, at a hotel when local strongman and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur barged in with a group of about 300 supporters. Thakur’s son Kshitij, a three-time lawmaker, is contesting against Naik from Nalasopara. The BVA members, who video-recorded the protest, alleged that Tawde was at the hotel in Virar, roughly 60km from Mumbai, to give ₹5 crore to woo voters. The Election Commission’s flying squad was called in and recovered ₹9.93 lakh from three rooms booked in Naik’s name. In addition, the BVA members also recovered a diary from the BJP leaders’ possession and alleged it held details of the money to be distributed.
Police in Tulinj filed three FIRs against Tawde over violation of the Model Code of Conduct “by distributing cash and liquor”, for violation of Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, and for holding a press conference with Thakur. Section 126 stipulates that no person shall convene, hold, attend, join or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election 48 hours before the polling ends. Thakur, whose BVA has fielded eight candidates, claimed he was informed by BJP workers that Tawde was “coming with ₹5 crore”. “We found a diary with certain noting and now the police and the Election Commission must act,” he said at press briefing which he held in concert with Tawde.Thakur alleged that the police had recovered ₹19 lakh but “showed a recovery” of only ₹9.93 lakh.