Madhya Pradesh: Datia Assembly By-Polls May Decide Fate Of MP PCC Chief
The by-polls necessitated the disqualification of sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti from the Assembly after being convicted by a Delhi court in a bank fraud case recently: Reports
BHOPAL: The July 30 by-elections to the Datia Assembly constituency under Gwarlior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh may decide the fate of state Congress president Jitu Patwari with a strong section of the party questioning his leadership capability.
Mr. Patwari who had replaced veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath to head the party in Madhya Pradesh after the Congress suffered debacle in the 2023 Assembly polls in the state is yet to inspire the revival of the beleaguered party in MP.
The Congress under his leadership had rather suffered the ignominy of drawing a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh losing all the 29 seats to the BJP.
Mr. Patwari has been facing criticism of late by several senior leaders of the party for not being able to rebuild it to take on the might of the ruling BJP in the 2028 Assembly elections in the state by taking all factions of the party along with him.
In this backdrop, the upcoming Datia by-elections may prove crucial for him to consolidate his position in the party, a senior Congress functionary told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“There are several factors which are billed to influence the outcome of the by-elections and the Congress should be able to take advantage of them to retain the Datia seat in the by-polls”, the Congress leader said.
The by-polls necessitated the disqualification of sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti from the Assembly after being convicted by a Delhi court in a bank fraud case recently.
One of the key factors which the Congress is trying to exploit is denial of a party ticket to veteran BJP leader and former home minister Narottam Mishra who had won from Datia Assembly seat three times in a row in 2008, 2013 and 2023.
Mr. Mishra however lost the polls in the 2023 Assembly elections from the seat to the Congress.
Although Mr. Mishra had declared his whole hearted support to his replacement, debutant Ashutosh Tiwari, in the by-elections, the party workers and leaders in Datia appeared yet to be reconciled to denial of ticket to him, sources said.
Star campaigners of the BJP including chief minister Mohan Yadav and Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia, besides Mr. Mishra, have joined the campaign for the party to give it momentum.
This apart, the recent students’ stir at Delhi in protest against the NEET paper leak may also work to the advantage of Congress, if the party will be able to exploit it in the by-elections, the Congress functionary said, unwilling to be quoted.
Mr. Patwari has deployed the young guns of his party in the by-elections to campaign for the Congress candidate Ghanashyam Singh, a former MLA.
With Mr. Patwari leading the campaign for the party, the Datia by-elections will further put Mr. Patwari’s leadership to test, another Congress leader said.
