BJP’s Vinod Tawde in ‘cash row’, the winnings may go to the Thakurs of Virar

The Thakur household patriarch, Hitendra Thakur, a six-time MLA from Vasai, heads the Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi (BVA), which holds important power successful the semi-urban regions of Virar, Vasai, and Nalasopara successful Palghar district. The family’s immense concern interests widen into astir each section enterprise.

There are 3 BVA MLAs successful the outgoing Maharashtra Assembly, including Hitendra’s lad Kshitij Thakur, a three-time MLA from Nalasopara, and Rajesh Patil, a two-time MLA from Boisar.

Hitendra’s member Bhai Thakur is besides a known figure, being a convicted gangster with alleged links to Dawood Ibrahim.

After the 2019 elections, the BVA had extended its enactment to the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. However, the 2 had a falling out, with the BVA accusing MVA leaders of arrogance and inaccessibility, peculiarly implicit the assignment of an head to the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation.

Then, starting February 2021, the Thakur household recovered itself nether Enforcement Directorate scrutiny successful transportation with a probe into the alleged Rs 6,200 crore fraud involving Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) and the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.

Come June 2022, the household shifted its allegiance to the BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections, with the shake-up triggered by that yet contributing to the illness of the MVA authorities and its replacement with the BJP-Shiv Sena authorities soon after.

However, since then, the Thakur family’s narration with the BJP excessively has soured. In this election, the BVA’s Kshitij Thakur is facing the Congress’s Vijay Patil and the BJP’s Sneha Dube Pandit successful his Nalasopara seat.

Kshitij excessively has had his stock of run-ins with the law. Having grown up mostly extracurricular the state, and educated successful the US, helium had a precise nationalist altercation successful 2013 with a constabulary serviceman connected the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. This confrontation escalated, resulting successful a privilege question against the constabulary officer, followed by an battle connected him by MLAs wrong the Maharashtra Assembly.