The Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) evening disbanded its Datia district unit as part of disciplinary action following recommendations from a two-member review panel constituted earlier in the day to delve into the reasons for the Datia byelection loss.

“On the directions of State president Hemant Khandelwal, and based on the recommendations of the committee constituted to review the results of the Datia Assembly by-election, the current organizational structure of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Datia District, is dissolved with immediate effect,” the party stated in an order.

The two-member panel of M.P. BJP general secretary Gaurav Randeeve and senior leader Ambaram Karada has been tasked with holding discussions with leaders and workers involved with the bypoll preparations and analyse the result.

The committee was set up shortly after a meeting of senior leaders at Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence in Bhopal.

It was attended by Mr. Khandelwal, Deputy Chief Ministers Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla, Datia candidate Ashutosh Tiwari, bypoll in-charge Bharat Singh Kushwaha, and other senior leaders and Ministers.

Mr. Tiwari’s 6,016-vote defeat at the hands of Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh has fuelled rumours of conflict within the BJP and allegations of internal sabotage by supporters of former State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who was denied a ticket from the seat that he has represented thrice.

Accepting the mandate on Monday, Mr. Khandelwal also hinted, without taking any names, at action against those who may have worked against the party’s interests.

‘Find betrayers’

“First, we have to find out who the betrayer is,” Mr. Tiwari told reporters on a question about internal sabotage. A source in the State BJP unit said the meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence was “largely focused on allegations of sabotage”.

Political observes believe that the remarks were directed at Mr. Mishra.

Observers also recall a tearful Mr. Mishra at Mr. Tiwari’s nomination rally and attribute the BJP’s defeat in Datia town, a long-time BJP stronghold, to the discontent of his large supporter base there.

“Ashutosh Tiwari and the election in-charge [Mr. Kushwaha] both have made direct allegations. They have given some proof from there side but its not like the leadership was not aware of this already. And if there was actually sabotage, the State unit can only give its report to the high-command. Any action against those responsible will only be taken by Delhi,” a senior party functionary in Bhopal said.

Meanwhile, the Congress has targeted the BJP government over the bypoll result and said it indicates the “sentiment of the entire State”.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yadav, State Congress president Jitu Patwari sought white papers on the condition of various sectors like education, health, agriculture, youth employment, women’s safety and problems of the tribal and Dalit communities.

“We should not limit the mandate from Datia merely to a matter of political victory or defeat, but to view it as an opportunity for the state’s future. The government should issue a series of white papers on the key issues to present the true state of affairs to the public,” he said in the letter.

Published - August 05, 2026 04:08 am IST