A day before the Maharashtra elections, political tensions flared in Virar as Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) workers surrounded BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, accusing him of distributing cash to sway voters.

“Rs 9.93 lakh have been recovered from the hotel rooms (of Tawde),” an Election Commission (EC) official said.

After a tense standoff lasting over three hours, it was decided that a joint press conference would be held at a hotel, featuring Hitendra Thakur, his son Kshitij, Vinod Tawde, and BJP candidate Rajan Naik. However, the press conference was abruptly halted by Election Commission officials, who declared it illegal.

The police have since registered an FIR in connection with the incident. Following this, Thakur, Kshitij, and Tawde left together in a car, with Tawde mentioning they were heading for lunch. In another development, Hitendra Thakur’s party, the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), saw its official candidate from Dahanu Assembly, Suresh Padvi, join the BJP on Tuesday. Padvi also pledged his support to BJP’s official candidate, Vinod Mendha.

The incident took place at a hotel in Virar, where BVA workers accused Vinod Tawde of being caught with cash. According to the BVA, Tawde was carrying a bag containing a diary that detailed the distribution of Rs 15 crore. Hitendra Thakur, the BVA MLA from Vasai-Virar, claimed that Tawde had arrived with Rs 5 crore in cash. Tensions escalated when Kshitij Thakur, the sitting MLA from Nalasopara and Hitendra Thakur’s son, allegedly seized the diary, which contained information about the supposed cash distribution. He also questioned Tawde’s presence in Virar after campaigning had officially ended on Monday evening.

Additionally, the BVA raised concerns over the hotel’s non-functional CCTV cameras, which they claimed prevented proper monitoring of the situation.

The BVA also raised concerns about the hotel’s non-functional CCTV cameras. “Action should be taken against the hotel as well. The only reason why CCTV was closed down was that distribution of money was going on,” Thakur said.

Reacting to the incident Sena UBT president Uddhav Thackeray referred to his bags being checked and said, “I have come here to take the Darshan of goddess Tulja Bhavani. When I came here my bags were checked but they found nothing. I got to know from the media that cash was found in the bags of Vinod Tawde. Yesterday there was an attack on NCP leader Anil Deshmukh… Who was supposed to check all this? Hence I prayed to Goddess that soon this corrupt government should go…”

The BJP dismissed the allegations, terming them baseless and politically motivated. Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar ridiculed the accusations, stating, “Vinod Tawde is a national general secretary. Is he going to distribute money at ward levels? Such claims are absurd.”

Atul Bhatkhalkar, another BJP leader, dismissed the allegations as a "false narrative" fabricated by opposition parties anticipating an impending defeat. He further stated that these charges were part of a coordinated effort to tarnish the BJP’s reputation.