Thousands On Roads, Stone Pelting, Tear Gas: How Narottam Mishra’s Ticket Denial Turned Into 12-Hour Chakka Jaam On NH-44 In Datia

The trigger: the BJP’s decision to field Ashutosh Tiwari instead of former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra for the July 30 Datia assembly bypoll.

The trouble started on Friday (July 10) evening after the BJP announced Tiwari’s candidature, dealing a blow to Mishra, who, according to party sources cited by PTI, had expected the ticket and had even purchased a nomination form. Within hours, thousands of Mishra’s supporters poured onto NH-44, bringing traffic to a complete standstill in what would become an 11.5- to 12-hour blockade.

 

Some supporters took off their shirts and lay on the road, while others staged a sit-in, vowing they would not relent until “Narottam Dada” received the ticket, with some even threatening to quit the BJP.

SP Datia Mayur Khandelwal said over 3,000 people attempted to vitiate the atmosphere in Datia city, shutting down markets and blocking the highway from around 6 pm. “Collector and I spoke to them again and again to leave from here and withdraw the chakka jaam. The traffic congestion due to this is about 15 km long. Bordering districts are also getting affected,” he said.

 

 

Stones at 4 AM, Tear Gas, Six Officers Hospitalised

The situation turned violent in the early hours of Saturday morning. “Around 4 am, they suddenly pelted stones at Police. Police resorted to tear gas shells, following which the stone pelting intensified. More than 6 of our personnel suffered serious injuries. They are all admitted to the hospital. Additional SP and I also suffered injuries. We then used tear gas shells again and dispersed them through domination,” Khandelwal said, adding that those involved had been asked to either surrender or leave peacefully.

 

District Magistrate Swapnil Wankhade confirmed the scale of the disruption, noting that multiple buses and even an ambulance were stuck in the jam. “We attempted to reason with the protestors, but as soon as we arrived, stones were pelted at us. So we deployed tear gas. The police did not use a lathi charge anywhere and did not use force anywhere,” he said.

 

Heavy security has since been deployed across Datia, with police removing mattresses and other material from the protest site. Several people have been taken into custody, and authorities have warned that further action will be taken.
 

The Political Background

The Datia bypoll was necessitated after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti, who had defeated Mishra by over 7,500 votes in the 2023 assembly elections, was sentenced to three years in prison by a Delhi court in April this year in a cheating case, leading to his disqualification. Bharti has since been granted bail.

Mishra, once one of Madhya Pradesh’s most powerful ministers, had openly expected to reclaim the seat. The BJP instead chose Tiwari, a resident of Sevda town in Datia, active in the state party organisation. In a carefully worded statement outside the BJP office, Tiwari acknowledged Mishra as “a very senior leader, my guardian,” claiming Mishra had assured him of his campaign support, a version that sits uneasily with the scenes unfolding on the streets of Datia.

The Election Commission has scheduled voting for July 30, with results on August 3.