Chandrashekhar Bawankule's audio clip on taking journalists to dhabas to avoid negative coverage sparks row

An audio clip featuring Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has surfaced, wherein he is purportedly advising party workers to take journalists to roadside eateries (dhabas) and extend them good treatment to prevent negative publicity in the run-up to the elections. This development has led to allegations that the BJP was attempting to influence the media.

These instructions were purportedly given by Bawankule in Ahmednagar where he was addressing a gathering of BJP workers on the management of poll booths. Under fire from the opposition, Bawankule clarified that he only meant that journalists should be treated with respect and that the party workers should try to understand their opinions about the allocated booths.

In the audio, Bawankule can be heard saying that small-time video journalists running news portals and residing in your booth areas sometimes present a minor incident as if some blast has taken place. Prepare a list of such nuisance-creating journalists, including those from the electronic media or print, and invite them for a cup of tea to dhabas so that they would not write anything against us ahead of Maha Vijay 2024. You know what I mean by inviting them for a cup of tea, he added.

If there are some shortcomings Sujay Vikhe Patil, local BJP MP, is there, he added. Take them to dhabas. Treat them well and ensure no negative news comes out against us. There should be positive news about us. Protect your own booths first, Bawankule said.