Stage for a high-stakes contest was set as both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress candidates filed their nomination on Monday (July 13, 2026) for the upcoming by-election for Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly constituency with top State leaders of their respective parties accompanying them.
BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari, a debutant candidate, submitted his nomination papers at Datia district collectors office in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, State BJP chief Hemant Khandelwal, and party’s State in-charge Mahendra Singh. Former State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who has represented Datia for three terms, also joined his party colleagues, days after his supporters staged massive protests after he was snubbed in the candidate selection for the bypoll.
Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh, a former MLA from neighbouring Sewda constituency, filed his papers with senior party leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Umang Singhar and senior MLA Phool Singh Baraiya, who represents neighbouring Bandar seat.
July 13 was the last date to file nomination, while the polling will take place on July 30 and votes will be counted on August 3.
During a rally, Mr. Mishra appeared emotional as he denied allegations of infighting within the BJP.
“From [July] 16, I will camp right here myself. Nobody should be under the impression that any worker will sit at home. Together with all the workers, I will bow my head at every single doorstep in Datia. I will visit every single village and ensure Ashutosh’s victory,” Mr. Mishra said in a heavy voice, after which he was seen being consoled by Mr. Yadav and Mr. Khandelwal.
Mr. Yadav termed Mr. Tiwari a “younger brother” to Mr. Mishra while asking him to ensure his victory.
“Narottam ji, your younger brother has come to fight the election here under your leadership. I hand him over to you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yadav also invoked the issue of Uniform Civil Code, which his government is expected to table in the Assembly in the upcoming Monsoon Session, to target the Congress.
Mr. Yadav said, “Why should there be different laws for Hindus, Muslims, and Christians in this country? If [Lord] Ram Chandra only married once, why should someone else marry four times? We will talk about one common law. The Congress people are now hiding their faces from this [issue]. They will talk about everything but are not ready to talk about UCC.”
Congress president Jitu Patwari, addressing a poll rally, slammed the BJP over Mr. Bharti’s disqualification while accusing it of “disrespecting the public’s mandate”.
“The public gave the government a mandate to serve, not for the politics of vendetta and revenge. The BJP government is attempting to stifle the opposition’s voice by misusing democratic institutions. Termination of Rajendra Bharti’s membership of the Legislative Assembly is an insult to the mandate of the people of Datia, and the public will give a democratic response to it,” Mr. Patwari said.
The constituency had fallen vacant after Congress’ Rajendra Bharti was disqualified in April following his conviction by a special MP/MLA court in Delhi in a bank fraud case. Mr. Bharti’s petition seeking a stay on conviction was recently dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
Mr. Bharti had won from the seat in 2023 after defeating Mr. Mishra, then State’s Home Minister and one of most influential BJP leaders.
The seat now holds significance as it appears to turn into a prestige battle for both parties.
The BJP leadership is working to present a united front and ease off the anger of Mr. Mishra’s supporters, due to his influence over the BJP cadre in Datia, as it looks to ensure
Mr. Mishra has, over the past two decades, built his influence in the area as well as over the BJP cadre. The party leadership present a united front and ease off the anger of Mr. Mishra’s supporters in order to prove its decision of fielding a debutant.
Whereas the Congress will look to regain a seat it had wrested from a powerful BJP leader in 2023 but lost its sitting MLA. Party candidate Mr. Singh hails from the erstwhile Datia royal family and his personal influence in Datia will also play a key role in the bypoll.
Mr. Singh also took a dig at the BJP’s candidate selection row and claimed that Mr. Mishra not contesting the polls has “shifted the situation” in Congress’ favour.
“Narottam Mishra-ji’s ticket being cut has changed the equations. The situation has shifted in our favour. There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the BJP. It is at its peak. The dissatisfaction seen on the streets has increased so much that those wounds cannot be healed now. No matter how much they say for show, many of their own people will work to defeat the BJP. 100 percent of Congress is winning. There is no doubt about it,” he said.
Published – July 13, 2026 04:38 pm IST
