A huge political row erupted on Tuesday when the Congress accused BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde of arriving with Rs 5 crore cash to distribute to their candidate Rajan Naik.

The incident occurred in Mumbai’s Virar East as Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) members, led by their leader Hitendra Thakur, confronted Tawde. Tawde denied the accusations, stating, “I had stopped on my way to discuss the polling process and code of conduct with our candidate.”

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said, “Vinod Tawde is not an ordinary worker but national general secretary of BJP. Why was he in a hotel in Virar East? A bag and Rs 5 crores in cash was recovered from him. Is this not a way to influence elections? He needs to answer why he had Rs 5 crores with him. Vinod Tawde needs to say why was he distributing money?”

A purported viral video of the incident shows visuals from a hotel, where Thakur is seen snatching a bag allegedly containing Rs 5 crore from Tawde. The confrontation escalated after BVA workers reached Hotel Vivanta in Virar East, where Tawde was holding a “brief meeting” with Naik, who is contesting the polls from Nalasopara on a BJP ticket.

BVA workers accused Tawde of distributing money to influence voters.

BVA, a local political outfit established by the Thakurs in the region, has been vocal in its opposition to the BJP. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also weighed in on the incident, taking a dig at the Election Commission, saying that its job was done by the Thakurs.

An FIR has been lodged at Tulinj Police Station over the matter, DCP Pournima Gaikwad said.

Meanwhile, the BJP vehemently refused the charges and instead blamed the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition for influencing the atmosphere by making absurd allegations.

“Today in Maharashtra, Maha Vikas Aghadi is making a desperate attempt to influence the atmosphere by making absurd accusations… Vinod Tawde, our (BJP’s)national general secretary who takes care of the working of the party… He was passing by Nalasopara and was talking to various candidates to discuss how the preparations for elections were going. He asked them to come to a hotel on the highway for a brief discussion. In the meantime, the Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi candidate came there and began raising concerns about this. It is clear from our side that this incident happened in a hotel and not at a private location so you can check the CCTV footage because if Rs 5 crore was carried, then there must be some visual impact of such a huge amount being carried,” BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said at the press conference.

The election to the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will be held in a single phase on Wednesday. The results will be announced by the Election Commission on November 23.

The second phase of Jharkhand elections and by-polls to various Assembly seats in other states are also scheduled for Wednesday.