Narottam Mishra summoned to Bhopal day after protests rock Datia over ticket denial

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picked debutant Ashutosh Tiwari over him for Datia Assembly by-election, former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra arrived in Bhopal.

The State BJP leadership, getting into damage control mode after massive protests by his supporters, had invited him to the capital even as senior leaders denied any possibility of changing the candidate. Mr. Mishra also urged his supporters to maintain calm and that he will convince them to campaign for the party’s candidate.

A source in the BJP told The Hindu that Mr. Mishra had been called by State unit general secretary (organisation) Hitanand Sharma.

Protests that began on Friday after the BJP announced Mr. Tiwari as its candidate for the July 30 bypoll turned massive and violent through the night with hundreds of Mr. Mishra’s supporters blocking the National Highway-44 and clashing with the police and resorting to stone pelting and vandalism. The blockade lasted for more than 10 hours and was only cleared early morning on Saturday. Apart from this, scores of BJP functionaries, from booth to district level, also resigned in protest.

The protests and the latest political developments reflect Mr. Mishra’s hold over the BJP organisation in his bastion of Datia as well as the anger of his supporters who were seeing the upcoming bypoll as an opportunity for his comeback to the State’s power centre and the position that he built over decades and cemented during his stint as the Home Minister between 2020 and 2023.

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Bhopal, Mr. Mishra said, “I am not upset with anyone and will meet everyone. Whoever asks me to, I will meet them. We will convince our workers and they will understand.”

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters in Indore, “Once a candidate is declared, there has never been a tradition in the BJP of changing the ticket. I don’t think the candidate will be changed.”

Deputy CM Jagdish Devda said everybody will abide by the party’s decision and “no situation will arise that could adversely affect the organisation”.