Government Railway Police intercepted a former aide to Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh and another person with Rs 1 crore in cash from Asansol station on Sunday, prompting allegations that the money was brought from Uttar Pradesh and meant for “purchasing” votes on May 19.

Ghosh did not deny that one of the men was a former personal assistant but said he was “not in regular contact with him”. Asked about the money and its alleged purpose, he said: “I am unaware of the incident.”

The two are in the custody of the GRP, which is controlled by the state government. Anyone carrying more than Rs 50,000 in cash when elections are on must possess documentary proof of the source of the money and the purpose.

Police said the two men — Lakshmi Kant Shaw of Delhi and Gautam Chatterjee of Barasat, North 24-Parganas — were spotted with a bag roaming “suspiciously” on platform No. 5 around 6pm on Sunday.

“We found the cash in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes in bundles inside the bag,” a GRP officer said.

A police officer said: “Chatterjee, during interrogation, claimed he was a former personal assistant of Dilip Ghosh and told us the money they were transporting to Calcutta belonged to the BJP and was to be used for the polls.”

Sources claimed Lakshmi Kant said the money was from Uttar Pradesh.