Following a high-stakes by-election campaign marked by the involvement of several prominent leaders and rumours of infighting in both parties, the Congress retained Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly constituency, defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the July 30 bypoll.

In the results declared on August 3, Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeated BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes, while Aazad Samaj Party’s Damodar Yadav ‘Mandal’ finished third with 22,527 votes.

The bypoll was necessitated after the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in April, following his conviction in a bank fraud case. Mr. Bharti had won the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections after defeating former State Home Minister and BJP heavyweight Narottam Mishra, ending his three-term dominance on the seat.

Boost for Congress

For the Madhya Pradesh Congress, whose morale had taken a hit after the nomination of its Rajya Sabha candidate, Meenakshi Natarajan, was rejected, the victory comes as a booster shot with just two years left for the 2028 Assembly election.

According to Congress insiders, Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh played a key role in candidate selection and management of the caste equation, while State unit chief Jitu Patwari led booth management and intense campaigning.

The Narottam Mishra factor

The ruling BJP, on the other hand, seems to have failed in bringing its house in order following protests by Mr. Mishra’s supporters after he was snubbed for a party ticket. The anger of his loyalists, who form a large chunk of the BJP’s local cadre and functionaries, appears to have cost the party despite various meetings with Mr. Mishra in Bhopal and New Delhi and efforts by senior leaders to engage with his supporters and local functionaries.

It lost various significant booths, including Mr. Mishra’s own and that of district president Raghuvir Singh Kushwaha, who had offered to resign after the former was snubbed in ticket selection.

As per State BJP sources, workers associated with Mr. Mishra did not put the energy into BJP’s campaign.

Rumours and allegations that Mr. Mishra “silently supported the Congress candidate” also circulated during the campaigning.

Caste and local equations

Datia constituency comes under the Gwalior Chambal region, which has seen the influence of the caste factor in electoral politics over the years due to its proximity with Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP is believed to have kept its Brahmin vote bank safe as it replaced a prominent Brahmin leader with another Brahmin candidate, although a low profile face. The community has about 33-35,000 votes in Datia.

The party, however, suffered some damage in overall upper-caste votes as it lost in Datia town, considered a stronghold, a party leader in Bhopal said.

The BJP leader also admitted that the anger of the young generation and students across the country may have hampered the party’s chances in both rural and urban parts of Datia.

Dalits, who have an estimated electorate of around 34,000, have traditionally backed the Congress in the seat. Apart from this, various OBC communities such as Kushwaha, Yadav and Ahirwar have sided with the Opposition party due to various factors, including its alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

Published - August 03, 2026 10:59 pm IST