Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal
Bhopal, Jul 11: Supporters of former Madhya Pradesh home minister and senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra staged massive protests on Friday and Saturday after the party denied him a ticket for the upcoming Datia Assembly by-election and instead nominated Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate.
The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti, who defeated Mishra by more than 7,500 votes in the 2023 Assembly elections, was disqualified following his conviction in a cheating case. A Delhi court sentenced Bharti to three years' imprisonment in April this year, leading to his disqualification, although he was later granted bail.
According to party sources, Mishra had expected to be renominated and had already purchased a nomination form before the BJP announced Tiwari's candidature.
The decision triggered widespread protests, with more than 3,000 supporters blocking National Highway-44 for nearly 12 hours. Officials said the agitation turned violent, leaving Datia Superintendent of Police Mayur Khandelwal and several other police personnel injured.
One protester declared that the agitation would continue until "Narottam Dada" was given the BJP ticket and warned that supporters were prepared to quit the party if their demand was not met.
Datia Collector Swapnil Wankhede said angry supporters blocked the national highway for nearly 11 to 12 hours. Despite repeated appeals to vacate the road, protesters allegedly resorted to stone-pelting, forcing police to fire teargas shells to disperse the crowd.
Wankhede said the Datia SP, other senior officers and police personnel sustained injuries during the violence. He also alleged that protesters damaged police vehicles and other public property.
SP Mayur Khandelwal said more than 3,000 protesters disrupted law and order in Datia town, attempted to shut markets and continued the highway blockade for almost 12 hours.
"We tried to pacify them, citing the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct in the town. However, after they refused to back down and pelted stones, cops fired teargas shells to control the situation," Khandelwal said.
He added that more than six police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting. Several protesters were detained, and police warned that strict action would be taken against anyone resorting to violence.
Following the unrest, several BJP office-bearers, including the district unit president and local corporators, resigned from the party in protest over the denial of a ticket to Mishra, according to party sources.
The Election Commission recently announced bypolls for three Assembly constituencies across the country, including Datia in Madhya Pradesh, besides one seat each in Bihar and Gujarat.
The BJP on Friday officially named Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate for the Datia by-election.
Polling for the by-election will be held on July 30, while counting of votes is scheduled for August 3.