Mumbai, August 2: In a significant move just a day before the results of the Datiya Assembly by-election in Madhya Pradesh, Congress has expelled former MLA Rajendra Bharti from the party. This action follows allegations of internal sabotage.
Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh had accused Bharti of opposition and betrayal within the party during the election campaign. In response, the organization took decisive action against him.
The Datiya seat became vacant after Rajendra Bharti’s membership was terminated. On April 2, the Rouse Avenue District Court in Delhi convicted him in a cooperative bank scam, sentencing him to three years in prison and imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh. Consequently, his Assembly membership automatically ended.
Bharti had won this seat in the 2023 Assembly elections. To retain the seat in the by-election, Congress fielded Ghanshyam Singh, who received support from state president Jitu Patwari, opposition leader Umang Singhar, and former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.
In a bid to reclaim their lost ground from the 2023 elections, the BJP replaced Narottam Mishra with Ashutosh Tiwari as their candidate. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav led a roadshow to campaign, which included central minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and state president Hemant Khandelwal.
Voting in Datiya took place peacefully on July 30, with District Collector Swapnil Wankhede reporting a turnout of 71.44%, which is a decrease of 8.76% from the 80% in 2023. The counting of votes will commence at Government Polytechnic College on Monday morning, with results expected by the afternoon of August 3.
The main contest is anticipated to be between BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari and Congress’s Ghanshyam Singh, with Aam Aadmi Party’s Damodar Singh Yadav also in the fray. A total of 21 candidates are contesting in this election.
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