In MP, Narottam Mishra’s comeback bid fizzles out as BJP picks debutant for bypoll

Leaders close to him said he routinely held marathon meetings lasting several hours, with hundreds of workers meeting him each day. Just days ago, he had also purchased a nomination form, a move interpreted as a strong signal that his candidature had the party leadership’s backing.

Mishra’s efforts came against the backdrop of a vacancy created after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a decades-old bank fraud case. The bypoll offered the BJP leader an opportunity to reclaim the constituency he had dominated for nearly two decades before suffering a shock defeat in the 2023 Assembly election.

That defeat fundamentally altered Mishra’s political standing. Once considered among the BJP’s most powerful leaders in Madhya Pradesh and even a potential future chief minister, Mishra lost not only his Assembly seat in 2023, but also the aura of electoral invincibility that had defined his career.

Since then, he has sought to rebuild his position through organisational outreach, Hindutva politics and sustained engagement with party workers, while remaining one of the BJP’s key strategists in the state.

His comeback, however, encountered resistance in sections of the Datia BJP. The 2023 defeat emboldened leaders who argued the constituency required a generational reset rather than another election centred on Mishra. As the bypoll approached, the party found itself “balancing Mishra’s stature and experience against concerns over organisational cohesion and the need to broaden the local leadership base”, a party functionary said.

The BJP ultimately chose Ashutosh Tiwari, signalling a preference for an organisational face over an electoral heavyweight. This will be his electoral debut.

Tiwari has built his career largely outside electoral politics. A long-time RSS-BJP functionary, he rose through the ranks after beginning his political journey in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He later served as the BJP’s divisional organisation secretary, a crucial position responsible for strengthening the party’s organisational network, coordinating district units and managing election preparedness. In 2022, the then Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government appointed him as the chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh Housing and Infrastructure Development Board with a cabinet rank, giving him administrative experience alongside his organisational credentials.

Unlike several senior state BJP leaders, Tiwari has not been associated with any entrenched electoral faction in Datia. His nomination is widely seen as “an attempt to project a relatively neutral organisational loyalist” capable of uniting competing groups in the district unit while shifting the focus of the bypoll away from Mishra’s comeback, party sources said.

Soon after his candidature was announced, Tiwari struck a conciliatory note. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the party leadership for reposing faith in an ordinary worker like me,” he said.

Seeking to dispel perceptions of divisions within the party, Tiwari underscored Mishra’s stature in the BJP. “Narottam ji is one of our party’s most senior and respected leaders. Under his guidance and the leadership of the party, everything will go well. With the support of our workers and the people of Datia, we are confident of victory,” he said.

For Mishra, the denial of the ticket marks another significant chapter. He emerged through the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP’s youth wing, and steadily became one of the party’s most influential leaders in the state. He played a central role in the party’s strategy during the 2020 collapse of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government and enjoyed proximity to the central party leadership.

As the state home minister under ex-CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Mishra cultivated the image of a hardline administrator, frequently defending bulldozer action against accused persons and taking aggressive positions on issues linked to Hindutva and culture politics. He courted national attention over his criticism of films such as Pathaan and Adipurush, as well as campaigns by fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, alleging that they “hurt” Hindu sentiments.

Protests in Datia

The decision to field Tiwari triggered dramatic scenes across Datia on Friday as Mishra’s supporters vented their anger against the BJP leadership.

Groups of workers blocked highways and staged road protests, with several supporters laying on the road as they demanded the party reconsider its decision. Police personnel were deployed from multiple stations to disperse protesters as crowds gathered across the constituency. The protests were accompanied by a wave of resignations by party workers, with several local office-bearers claiming they were stepping down from their posts in protest.

Mishra’s supporters said the Datia ticket denial was the latest in a series of setbacks for the former MLA since his defeat to the Congress in the 2023 Assembly election. They argued that despite his long tenure in the BJP and his role in the party organisation and government, Mishra had been sidelined after the loss. His supporters also claim development had come to halt in Datia since Mishra lost in 2023.

Former BJP MLA Mamta Meena also criticised the party’s decision. “He was once seen as a chief ministerial prospect. Today, the party is choosing ‘parcha wale’ leaders instead. This is happening not just in Madhya Pradesh but in other states as well. The old BJP is being finished off and made to sit at home,” she said.