MLA Disqualified, Bypoll In Madhya Pradesh's Datia To See Prestige Fight

Madhya Pradesh is set to witness a high-stakes political battle as the Election Commission announced the schedule for the by-election in the Datia assembly seat. Polling will be held on July 30, and the votes will be counted on August 3. The by-election is a prestige battle between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. Both sides have been working on their strategy even before announcing their candidates. 

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya exuded confidence, declaring that the BJP will "certainly win" Datia.

Asked whether former Home Minister Narottam Mishra will be the party's candidate, Vijayvargiya avoided committing to a name. "It is too early to comment on the candidate. The party will announce its nominee at the appropriate time," he said. 

Taking a swipe at the opposition, Vijayvargiya also dismissed criticism by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar over the timing of the by-poll. 

"The Congress has repeatedly questioned the judiciary, the executive and even the Election Commission. Conducting elections within the stipulated constitutional timeframe is the Election Commission's responsibility. No assembly or Lok Sabha constituency can remain unrepresented indefinitely," he said.

Within the Congress, intense discussions are in progress over the choice of candidate. The strongest buzz surrounds Arjun Bharti, son of disqualified former MLA Rajendra Bharti, who is reportedly seeking to inherit his father's political legacy.

Party leaders believe that fielding Arjun can help consolidate sympathy votes following Rajendra Bharti's disqualification. Arjun has remained politically active and recently accompanied his father during a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, fuelling speculation that the Congress high command is considering his candidature.

However, Arjun is not the only aspirant. The name of former MLA Ghanshyam Singh, who has represented both Datia and Sevdha constituencies in the past, is also doping the rounds.

Another prominent contender is Awadhesh Nayak, a former Vice-Chairman of the Textbook Corporation, who quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly elections. 

Nayak was initially given the Congress ticket in 2023 before the seat was allotted to Rajendra Bharti.

Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar, meanwhile, asserted that the Congress will retain the seat. 

"We fought the last election with full strength and won. This time too, we will contest vigorously and emerge victorious," Singhar said. In an apparent dig at the poll panel, he added, "Everyone knows how the Election Commission functions."

The by-election became necessary after Rajendra Bharti lost his assembly membership following his conviction in a decades-old bank fraud case. 

The case dates back to 1998, when alleged irregularities surfaced at the Datia Cooperative Rural Development Bank involving a fixed deposit. Investigators alleged that bank records were manipulated to extend an FD's tenure from three years to fifteen years, enabling withdrawals of interest between 1999 and 2011. At the time, Rajendra Bharti served as the bank's chairman and trustee.

On April 1, a Special MP-MLA Court in Delhi convicted Bharti in the 28-year-old fraud and forgery case. A day later, the court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment and imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine.
The court did not stay the conviction but allowed him 60 days to appeal before the High Court.

Consequently, under the law governing disqualification of legislators upon conviction carrying a sentence of more than two years, the assembly secretariat terminated Bharti's membership from April 2 and declared the Datia seat vacant.

The BJP is widely expected to field Narottam Mishra in an attempt to reclaim one of its traditional strongholds. The contest could become even more interesting with Damodar Yadav of the Azad Samaj Party claiming that he has already been selected as the party's candidate.