Ambulance Blocked, Police Attacked: Datia Spiralled for 12 Hours After Narottam Mishra Was Denied BJP Bypoll Ticket
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A massive protest broke out in MP's Datia after BJP leader and former Home Minister Narottam Mishra was denied a ticket for upcoming Datia Bypolls.
By Pranjal Gupta
New Delhi, July 11: Over three thousand supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narottam Mishra unleashed violence in Datia, Madhya Pradesh, after their leader was denied a ticket for the upcoming bypolls. The crowd blocked NH-44 (National Highway 44) for nearly 12 hours, trapping ambulances, trucks, lorries and other vehicles. Police officials, who managed to bring the situation under control after hours of effort, said the miscreants also vandalised vehicles and attempted to set them on fire.
Swapnil Wankhade, District Magistrate of Datia, said several police personnel sustained injuries, but the situation was contained without resorting to a lathi charge.
"There was an 11.5 to 12-hour traffic jam in which many buses and an ambulance were stranded. We attempted to reason with the protestors, but as soon as we arrived, stones were pelted at us. We then deployed tear gas. After releasing the tear gas, the crowd dispersed.
The police did not resort to a lathi charge or use force anywhere."
Datia is one of the 230 constituencies of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The seat fell vacant after Rajendra Bharti of the Congress party, who defeated Mishra, the former Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, in the December 2023 Assembly elections, was disqualified. Bharti was convicted by a special court in Delhi and sentenced to three years' imprisonment in connection with a 2015 bank fraud case. Under Indian law, any legislator sentenced to two or more years in prison is automatically disqualified, leaving the Datia seat vacant.
Following this, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that the bypoll would be held on 30 July 2026. This appeared to be a golden opportunity for Mishra, who has long enjoyed a stronghold in the region. His supporters believed that the BJP leadership would nominate him, but they were taken by surprise when Ashutosh Tiwari was given the party ticket to contest the Datia bypoll.
Apart from blocking the highway, a large protest also took place outside the BJP's party office in Datia.
Datia is also Tiwari's home turf. Unlike Mishra, he has maintained a low profile over the years, working as a disciplined organisational strategist within the BJP. He has deep, long-standing ties with both the party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He currently serves as the State Cell In-Charge (Pradesh Prakosth Prabhari) for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, where he coordinates the party's various specialised wings, including the IT, legal, medical and business cells.
During Shivraj Singh Chouhan's tenure as Chief Minister, Tiwari served as Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board, a position that carried cabinet rank.
