The biggest news of this time from the politics of Madhya Pradesh is that the party did not give ticket to senior BJP leader Dr. Narottam Mishra in Datia Assembly by-election. After the ticket was canceled, Narottam Mishra’s supporters and BJP workers took to the streets in Datia. A large number of his supporters reached the BJP district office on the highway and later staged a dharna on the highway and raised slogans against the state leadership. Amidst this development, the party organization also suffered a major setback. BJP District President Raghuveer Singh Kushwaha sent his collective resignation to State President Hemant Khandelwal.
In his resignation letter, he described the decision on candidate selection as “one-sided” and alleged that the party had neglected grassroots workers. Raghuveer Singh Kushwaha wrote in his letter that he has taken this decision after discussing with the workers and officials. According to him, the decision to select candidates for Datia by-election was one-sided and has ignored the honor and sentiments of the party workers.
Narottam Mishra was the MLA of Datia from 2018 to 2023 and was also the Home Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government. His supporters have also been considering him as a possible contender for the post of Chief Minister in the state. However, in the 2023 assembly elections, he had to face defeat from Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti by about 7 thousand votes.
Now the biggest question is whether BJP can change its decision after such opposition and pressure? At present its possibility is considered very less. Till now, there is no such example in BJP that under the pressure of workers’ protest, the ticket of any candidate has been withdrawn and given again. If this happens, it will be the beginning of a new tradition in the party, which will increase the possibility of similar protests in future if every big leader is denied ticket. This is the reason why the party can stick to its decision.
How did the situation of by-election arise?
The hearing of the 28 year old bank fraud case against Rajendra Bharti was going on in the MP-MLA court. The court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, after which his assembly membership was terminated. For this reason, by-election was declared on Datia seat.
Narottam Mishra was continuously active in Datia since the announcement of by-election. He was doing public relations, busy in election preparations and had also purchased nomination papers. Almost everyone was confident that BJP would make him the candidate.
Why was Narottam Mishra’s ticket canceled?
Everyone expected that BJP would field Narottam Mishra as its candidate from Datia, but around 6 pm on Friday, BJP released the list of candidates and declared Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate from Datia. According to sources, the biggest reason for Narottam Mishra’s ticket being canceled was the internal survey conducted in Delhi. In this survey, Narottam Mishra’s chances of victory were said to be weak.
It is said that the central leadership sought feedback from Madhya Pradesh BJP regarding this survey. The same indications were given by the state organization that the election will not be easy for Narottam Mishra, whereas the chances of victory of some other candidate are high. After this, serious consideration of changing the ticket started.
Discussion between the Chief Minister and the State President
According to sources, there were two rounds of discussion on this issue between Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav and BJP State President Hemant Khandelwal. Many names were brainstormed regarding Datia seat and 2 to 3 names were sent to the central leadership. Ultimately the high command approved the name of Ashutosh Tiwari.
A two-day meeting of the State Working Committee of Madhya Pradesh BJP was proposed on 18 and 19 July 2026 in Orchha (Niwari). Officially, the party cited the busyness of senior leaders and central officials as the reason for postponing the meeting.
However, sources claim that the state BJP had already received indications that Narottam Mishra’s ticket may be cut. In such a situation, there was a fear that the protests might intensify after the ticket was announced. Since Orchha is very close to Datia, the decision to postpone the meeting is also being considered as a reason to avoid any possible protest or uproar during the working committee meeting. This claim has not been officially confirmed by BJP.
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