Datia, July 11: A massive protest by more than 3,000 demonstrators over a ruling party ticket distribution turned violent in Datia, leaving the local superintendent of police and several security personnel injured during an 12-hour blockade on National Highway-44. The unrest erupted following the Bharatiya Janata Party decision to field Ashutosh Tiwari for the upcoming Datia assembly by-election instead of former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra.
Security forces deployed tear-gas shells to disperse the aggressive crowd after hours of failed negotiations. Datia Collector Swapnil Wankhede asserted that angry supporters held the national highway hostage for nearly half a day despite repeated requests from administration officials to clear the route. The crowd reportedly threw stones at the police line, which caused direct injuries to Datia SP Mayur Khandelwal and senior staff, while also damaging multiple government vehicles and passing public transport.
The political fallout extended deep into the party organization as multiple local leaders chose to step down from their posts immediately. Several district office-bearers, including the district unit president and municipal corporators, resigned from their positions to show solidarity with the bypassed leader.
Party sources affirmed that the central decision came as a severe blow to Mishra, who fully expected to contest the seat and had already purchased his official nomination form. The Datia seat became vacant after Congress leader Rajendra Bharti, who originally defeated Mishra by over 7,500 votes in the 2023 assembly elections, was disqualified following a three-year prison sentence in a cheating case by a Delhi court.
Furious demonstrators maintained that they would not yield until the leadership reversed its electoral choice. One protester declared that they would never withdraw the agitation unless Narottam Dada was handed the ticket, maintaining that thousands were prepared to quit the party permanently over the perceived slight.
Datia SP Mayur Khandelwal maintained that the large assembly actively disrupted public order, attempted to force local marketplaces to shut down, and refused to comply with the model code of conduct currently in force. Officers resorted to crowd-control measures only after the gathering turned violent, resulting in several arrests on the spot. The Election Commission has scheduled the by-election polling for July 30, with the final vote counting set for August 3.
