A dispute over ticket allocation within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has triggered violent clashes and unrest ahead of the upcoming Datia assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP’s decision to deny a ticket to former Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who had played a key role in maintaining law and order in the past, and instead field Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate, sparked sharp discontent among Mishra’s supporters. Thousands of party workers took to the streets in protest against the decision.
The demonstrations, which began on Friday evening, escalated into violence and continued through Saturday morning. Over 3,000 supporters of the candidate blocked the strategically important National Highway-44 (NH-44) passing through Datia, staging a “chakka jam” that lasted nearly 11 hours and brought transport in the region to a standstill.
The blockade caused a massive traffic pile-up stretching 20 to 25 kilometres along the highway, disrupting movement not just locally but across four neighbouring districts — Datia, Jhansi, Shivpuri, and Gwalior — with Gwalior being the worst affected. Hundreds of passenger buses, cargo trucks, and several ambulances carrying emergency medical cases were stranded in the resulting gridlock for hours, causing severe hardship to the public.
District administration officials, including District Magistrate Swapnil Wankhede and Superintendent of Police Mayur Khandelwal, worked through the night in an effort to restore normalcy and persuade protesters to call off the agitation peacefully. However, renewed talks around 4 am failed, after which the situation spiralled out of control as protesters pelted stones at police personnel attempting to manage the crowd. The SP, ASP, and DM Wankhede himself, who was wearing a helmet, were among those injured, along with an SDPO and a total of eight police personnel. Protesters went on to vandalise government and private property, overturning several police vehicles and cargo trucks and smashing vehicle windows before police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The unrest has its roots in the 2023 assembly elections, when Mishra lost the Datia seat to Congress’s Rajendra Bharti by a margin of over 7,500 votes. Bharti was subsequently disqualified as MLA in April this year after a Delhi court sentenced him to three years in prison in a separate case, necessitating the bypoll. With polling scheduled for July 30 and counting on August 3, Mishra had prepared his nomination papers anticipating another chance to contest, making the party’s decision to field Tiwari instead all the more unexpected. Heavy police deployment continues in Datia, with authorities warning of strict action against any further disturbances.