Datia: The ruling BJP has made development its main poll plank in the Datia assembly byelection in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress is countering with claims of crop losses and anger among OBCs over the purported denial of full 27 per cent reservation.
The BJP and Opposition Congress have deployed senior leaders in the constituency as campaigning for the July 30 bypoll enters the last phase.
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BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari, whose candidature caused heartburn among the supporters of former state home minister Narottam Mishra, is pitted against Congress's Ghanshyam Singh, a local royal.
The bypoll was necessitated after the assembly membership of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was terminated following his conviction and three-year jail sentence by a Delhi court in a cheating case in April. Bharti was later granted bail.
The BJP has pitched development as its central poll plank in Datia, while the Congress is countering with claims of crop losses, alleged fertiliser shortages, and "outrage" among the OBC community over purported non-implementation of full 27 per cent reservation.
Seven officers of the inspector and sub-inspector ranks have been transferred from Datia to the police headquarters in Bhopal on the directives of the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair election, an official said on Sunday.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan led the BJP's campaign, while senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, state party chief Jitu Patwari, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar and Jaivardhan Singh canvassed for Ghanshyam Singh.
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Addressing an election rally at Basai, Chouhan expressed confidence that Ashutosh Tiwari will win hands down.
He said the "double-engine" governments at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh are committed to development.
The Congress leaders campaigned extensively in rural areas in support of Ghanshyam Singh, seeking to retain the seat.
Addressing a rally, Singhar alleged that farmers were upset over crop losses and fertiliser shortage, while the OBC community was dissatisfied over the issue of 27 per cent reservation.
He claimed the Congress is receiving overwhelming support from all sections and expressed confidence that Ghanshyam Singh will emerge victorious.
Azad Samaj Party president and Lok Sabha member Chandrashekhar Azad also addressed public meetings at Basai and Udgawan as campaigning entered its final phase. Votes will be counted on August 3.
In the 2023 assembly elections, Congress's Rajendra Bharti had defeated Narottam Mishra by more than 7,500 votes.
