Voting Underway in Datia Assembly By-election

Voting began at 7 a.m. on July 30, 2026, for the by-election in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly constituency, with results scheduled for August 3. A total of 220,344 voters—comprising 116,088 men and 104,246 women—are eligible to choose from 21 candidates across 291 polling stations. The main contest is between the BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari and Congress’ Ghanshyam Singh, with Damodar Singh Yadav of the Azad Samaj Party also in the race.

The by-election was necessitated by the April disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti following a three-year prison sentence in a fraud case. In the 2023 elections, Bharti had defeated former Home Minister Narottam Mishra.

Internal conflict occurred within the BJP after the party nominated Tiwari instead of Mishra. This led to protests and violence by Mishra's supporters, resulting in injuries to police personnel and FIRs against more than 20 workers. Following meetings with party leadership in Delhi and Bhopal, including national president Nitin Nabin, Mishra publicly stated he accepts the party's decision and will work for Tiwari's victory.

During the campaign, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav raised the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), while Congress president Jitu Patwari accused the BJP of "politics of vendetta" regarding Bharti's disqualification.

Center-left sources focus on these internal party tensions and specific political accusations, whereas center reporting presents the Datia by-election as one of several concurrent contests across India, including seats in Bankipur and Manjalpur.