The Congress has retained the Datia assembly constituency as Ghanshyam Singh defeated his nearest rival Ashutosh Tiwari of the BJP by 6,016 votes.
"This verdict marks the beginning of the end of the BJP," Ghanshyam Singh said after his victory.
In April this year, a Delhi court sentenced the then Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti from Datia to three years of imprisonment in a bank fraud case, which effectively led to his termination from the MP state Assembly, and resulted in this by-election.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitendra Patwari thanked the people of Datia for exposing the real face of the BJP government in the state. Apart from Singh and Tiwari, 19 other candidates also contested in the bypoll.
The Datia by-election emerged as a political test for the BJP, as it is in power in the state, and for the Congress, it emerged as a chance to stake its claim in the state’s politics ahead of the 2028 assembly election.
The bypoll saw Chief Minister Mohan Yadav campaigning extensively. Hemant Khandelwal, the newly appointed state BJP president, Deputy CM Jagdish Devda, ministers, and MLAs from the BJP campaigned in the constituency in a show of strength.
The BJP’s election manifesto focused on schemes such as the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, and the promise of development under the double-engine government. Meanwhile, the Congress election campaign focused on farmers’ distress and youth unemployment in the state.
The poll was conducted on July 30, and the overall voting stood at 71.44 per cent. When urban regions of Datia recorded a 62 per cent voter turnout, meanwhile the rural regions recorded a 78 per cent voter turnout.
Satish Patel wins Manjalpur
The BJP candidate Satish Patel has won the Manjalpur assembly by-election in Gujarat by a margin of 30,630 votes, defeating the Congress candidate Bhikhabhai Rabari.
"Heartfelt congratulations to the workers. Very very grateful to all the voters for giving a splendid victory to the candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party, Shri Satishbhai Patel, in the by-election of Manjalpur Assembly.” the BJP Gujarat unit posted on X.
The BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya opined that the result reaffirmed the people of Gujarat’s faith in the BJP-led state government, and the party's development agenda. He viewed the result as the continued support from the public ahead of the 2027 Gujarat Assembly elections.
