Datia bypoll result: Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh (pictured above) defeating his BJP rival Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes.

Congress's shock Datia bypoll victory triggers BJP overhaul, district chief fired

The BJP dissolved its entire Datia district organisation after losing the Assembly bypoll to Congress. The move followed a review of the defeat and revived tensions over Narottam Mishra's denied ticket.

by · India Today

In Short

  • BJP dissolved entire Datia district unit after bypoll loss
  • Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh won by 6,016 votes
  • Two-member committee formed to probe election defeat

The BJP has dissolved its entire district organisation in Madhya Pradesh's Datia after the party's defeat in the July 30 by-election, acting on the recommendation of a probe committee constituted to examine the setback.

Tuesday's action came a day after the Congress retained the Datia Assembly seat, with its candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeating his BJP rival Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes.

Singh secured 66,757 votes, while Tiwari polled 60,741. Azad Samaj Party candidate Damodar Yadav finished third with 22,527 votes.

In an order issued by BJP state office secretary Shyam Mahajan, the party announced the immediate dissolution of the entire Datia district unit.

District president Raghuveer Singh Kushwaha was removed from his post along with the entire district executive.

The order also dissolved all organisational divisions, fronts, cells, projects and departmental units operating in the district.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav held a review meeting with senior BJP leaders from both the organisation and the government to assess the reasons behind the bypoll defeat.

Following the meeting, the party constituted a two-member committee to investigate the loss.

According to an official party statement, BJP State General Secretary Gaurav Randive and senior leader Ambaram Karada have been appointed to the panel.

The committee has been tasked with interacting with party office-bearers and senior leaders associated with the election, analysing the factors that led to the defeat and submitting its report to state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal.

The Datia by-election had already generated controversy within the BJP after the party replaced six-time MLA and senior leader Narottam Mishra with Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate.

The decision to deny Mishra a ticket had triggered strong protests by party workers and supporters in his home district ahead of the bypoll.

- Ends