Huge ruckus hit Madhya Pradesh BJP's Datia unit as several councillors resigned over denial of ticket to Narottam Mishra, former state home minister, instead, the party has fielded Ashutosh Tiwari for the bypoll. Angered over the party's decision, several councillors including BJP District President Raghuvir Saran resigned. Thousands of his followers blocked Jhansi Highway (NH-44) bringing traffic to a complete standstill with long queues of vehicles. The supporters also pelted stones at the police following which heavy security deployed at the spot to control the tense situation.
The administration has now imposed Section 163 of the BNS. DM Swapnil Wankhede said, "The traffic jam persisted until 5 AM. Four districts—Datia, Jhansi, Shivpuri, and Gwalior—were affected by it. Gwalior was the worst-hit area, with many ambulances stuck in the jam. We kept trying to reason with them since yesterday, but the activists were unwilling to listen; we tried again at 4 AM, but then they started pelting stones."
"Following this, we fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Eight of our personnel sustained serious injuries due to stone-pelting, and the windows of three or four police vehicles were smashed. Throughout this, there was no lathi-charge or stone-pelting from our side. We resorted to tear gas only when they failed to heed our warnings. However, if they still do not understand and attempt to come out in groups of 5 to 10, we are prepared to take action," he added.
SP Datia Mayur Khandelwal told ANI, "More than 3000 hooligans attempted to vitiate the atmosphere in Datia city yesterday. They attempted to shut down markets. They have been sitting here since 6 pm yesterday for 'chakka jaam'. Collector and I spoke to them again and again to leave from here and withdraw the 'chakka jaam' here. The traffic congestion due to this is about 15 km long. Bordering districts are also getting affected. 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. They are now hiding. They have now been told to either surrender or leave peacefully. 'Chakka jaam' will not be tolerated. A few people have been taken into custody. Action will be taken against them. The traffic congestion is being cleared. Police force is present across Datia," he said.
Who is Narottam Mishra?
Narottam Mishra was the former state home minister. Mishra has been representing the Datia Assembly constituency since 2008.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader defeated former MLA Rajendra Bharti on all occasions. He first won the Assembly election in 1990 from the Dabra constituency by defeating Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Lal Ghaghele with a margin of over 7,000 votes. However, he lost the next election and came third after BSP's Jawahar Singh Rawat and Congress candidate Sitaram Dubey in 1993. Mishra won the next two elections from Dabra in 1998 and 2003.
Mishra was given charge of several other ministries including Health and Family Welfare, Water Resources, Information and Public Relations, Medical Education, AYUSH, Housing, Education and Urban Development under successive Babulal Gaur and Shivraj Singh Chouhan regimes. The BJP leader lost the Lok Sabha Election in 2009 against Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna by overwhelming 2,49,737 votes. Mishra has been pitted against Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti again in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023.
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