Datia bypoll: Boost for Congress, Reality check for BJP
The Congress party won the Datia Assembly by-election in Madhya Pradesh, defeating the BJP candidate. The result is seen as a significant boost for Congress and a sign of internal organizational issues within the local BJP unit.
Why it matters
By-elections serve as bellwethers for voter sentiment and party organizational health ahead of major state elections.
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.
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