Violence erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Saturday (July 11, 2026), as supporters of senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra clashed with police and blocked a national highway after the former Minister was denied a ticket for the July 30 Assembly byelection.
The nearly 12-hour blockade on NH-44 by over 3,000 protesters left the Datia Superintendent of Police and several police personnel injured before security forces cleared the highway and arrested some agitators, officials said.
The ruling BJP on Friday (July 10, 2026) announced the candidature of Ashutosh Tiwari for the Datia Assembly bypoll, angering Mr. Mishra’s supporters.
Enraged workers staged a blockade on the national highway for close to 11-12 hours, and despite asking them to clear the road, they pelted stones on the police, forcing the cops to fire teargas shells to disperse the mob, Datia Collector Swapnil Wankhede told reporters.
The Datia SP, other senior officers and jawans suffered injuries, he said, clarifying that the police did not cane-charge the protesters.
Mr. Wankhede said that the angry mob damaged police and other vehicles, but the road was subsequently cleared, and the situation is under control.
Talking to PTI Videos, SP Mayur Khandelwal said that more than 3,000 protesters disrupted the peace in Datia town, tried to close the market, and staged a 12-hour road blockade.
More than six policemen suffered injuries in the pelting of stones, he said.
“We tried to pacify them, citing the enforcement of the model code of conduct in the town. However, after they refused to back down and pelted stones, cops fired teargas shells to control the situation,” the senior officer said.
Some of the protesters were also arrested and warned of strict action if they resorted to violence, the SP said.
Sources said that following Friday’s political development, some of the party office-bearers, including the district unit president and local corporators, resigned from the party in protest. Ashutosh Tiwari’s nomination came as a setback for former Minister Mishra, who, according to party sources, expected the ticket and had even purchased a nomination form.
Mr. Tiwari, a resident of Sevda town in Datia, has been active in the State BJP organisation, they said.
An elated Mr. Tiwari told reporters outside the State BJP office that he met senior party leaders and expressed his gratitude. “Mishra is a very senior leader, my guardian, and he said he will campaign for the party and me,” Mr. Tiwari said.
One of Mr. Mishra’s supporters, Balram, told PTI Videos that some of them took off their shirts and lay down on the road while others staged a sit-in.
Another supporter said they would not relent until “Narottam Dada” got the ticket and would even quit the saffron party.
Congress leader Rajendra Bharti had defeated the then Home Minister Mishra from Datia by over 7,500 votes in the 2023 Assembly elections. However, a Delhi court sentenced Bharti to three years’ imprisonment in a cheating case in April this year, leading to his disqualification as an MLA and necessitating a byelection.
He subsequently got bail.
The Election Commission of India recently announced the schedule for bypolls to three Assembly constituencies in the country, including Datia. The other two seats are in Bihar and Gujarat.
While votes will be cast on July 30, the results will be announced on August 3, as per the schedule.
Published – July 11, 2026 02:07 pm IST
