Caught in Maharashtra ‘cash row’, who is Vinod Tawde?
Vinod Tawde, 61, has survived many ups and downs in his political career, including rehabilitation in Delhi after being denied an Assembly ticket from Maharashtra in 2019. But few blows would have struck as hard as Tuesday’s for the BJP national general secretary.
As he was caught on camera being heckled by supporters of a rival party, for allegedly distributing cash for votes on the eve of Maharashtra polling, speculation was rife that, once again, internal BJP politics may be at play to halt Tawde in his tracks.
A former student leader of the ABVP, who was groomed in politics by two of the BJP’s most powerful Maharashtra leaders, the now deceased Gopinath Munde and Pramod Mahajan, Tawde has had an unsteady innings in recent years in the party. However, having delivered a series of electoral gains for the BJP, he was lately seen as being on the rise again.
In fact, BJP watchers had been taken by surprise at the amount of time the national general secretary spent in Maharashtra in the run-up to the elections, leading to some talk of a post-poll role for him in the state. As a Maratha leader, belonging to Mumbai, he would have been more acceptable to activists fighting for reservation for the community and angry with the BJP.
Tawde denied the allegations of cash distribution, led by Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur – the strongman of the Virar region where Tuesday’s episode happened – as a conspiracy to malign the BJP’s image. And claimed that he was at the Virar hotel for last-minute interaction with party workers and to pay homage to a local deity ahead of polling on Wednesday.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, Tawde claimed that after the BVA workers gheraoed him, he himself called up Hitendra Thakur, “who reached the hotel. and we left together”. “So where is the question of money distribution? I urge the Election Commission to conduct a probe and find out the truth,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut said the episode seemed “an internal matter of the BJP as they want to clip the wings of Tawde”. “The (Maharashtra) Home Department is keeping a close watch on Tawde, who has risen in ranks at the centre in the BJP.” The Home portfolio in the state is under BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said what had happened showed the true colours of the BJP. “You attack our leaders night and day. Now you are misusing funds to buy votes. Where are the free and fair elections?”
A student leader who went on to become the youngest Mumbai BJP president in his mid-30s, Tawde had a decade-long stint in the state unit, holding important positions.
He served three terms as an MLC, before contesting his first Assembly polls from Borivali and winning. In the BJP government led by Fadnavis that followed, Tawde held several portfolios such as School Education, Higher and Technical Education, Medical Education, Minorities Welfare etc. However, gradually he was divested of Medical Education and School Education, leaving him with portfolios seen as less lucrative.
Given his popularity in Borivali as an MLA, Tawde was expected to be re-fielded in 2019, but at the eleventh hour, he was denied a ticket. With no explanation offered by the party, it was believed that he paid a price for his differences with Fadnavis.
In 2020, Tawda was moved out of Maharashtra as national secretary, in what was seen as a bid to accommodate him after the sidelining. In November 2021, he was further elevated to the powerful organisational position of national general secretary.
BJP sources say that the elevation was an acknowledgment of Tawde’s performance in his new role. One of his first accomplishments was getting both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts for the BJP in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls held in December 2021, beating the Aam Aadmi Party in a neck-and-neck contest.
In 2022, Tawde was named coordinator for all the five states headed for elections that year — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand. Barring Punjab, the BJP won all. In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, Tawde was entrusted with the task of overseeing the strategy for 160 constituencies identified as the most difficult by the party. Currently, Tawde is in-charge of Bihar, which is due for Assembly polls next year.
Tawde also holds the responsibility of coordination on the BJP side when it comes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet Maan Ki Baat radio show, including giving inputs on matters that can be addressed in the broadcast.
Sources say the BJP leadership remains appreciative of the fact that Tawde accepted the refusal of ticket to him in 2019 with grace, not attacking anyone and moving into his new role. In fact, after he was made general secretary, Tawde had said, “The shift from Maharashtra to Delhi came as a blessing in disguise… It is a chance to use my potential… In Maharashtra, one is confined to state politics, whereas Delhi has opened the doors to national politics. It is a very huge canvas.”
Now, as among the top three leaders in BJP president J P Nadda’s team, who works in close coordination with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tawde is seen as the most powerful Maharashtra leader in Delhi.
Since he was given an organisational role outside Maharashtra, Tawde has been careful not to step on Fadnavis’s shoes and has kept away from state politics. Which is why the sudden frequency of his visits to Maharashtra ahead of the Assembly polls drew much notice.
However, others point out that Tawde has never been a mass leader and always been a backroom strategist and organisation man.
The 61-year-old often talks about how his ABVP sting was a great learning experience. “It was field work where you had to take to the streets, hold agitations and highlight your issues,” he says.
Tawde may need all those skills now.