From BJP’s ‘bulldozer man’ in MP to the margins: Why Narottam Mishra broke down after losing Datia ticket
New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, a hardcore ‘Hindutva leader’ and once considered the de facto number 2 in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, got emotional—almost moved to tears—as he vowed his unyielding loyalty to the BJP, and commitment to its cause.
“I will bow my head at every doorstep in Datia. I will visit every village, and make sure Ashutosh wins,” he told a crowd after Ashutosh Tiwari filed his nomination for the assembly bypoll in Datia, a seat Mishra represented for multiple terms, and thought he was the obvious BJP choice from for the 30 July bypolls too.
It was not to be. The 66-year-old was ignored by the party for a younger Ashutosh Tiwari, who comes from the RSS background.
“By serving the BJP day and night with complete dedication—in thought, words, and deeds—every party worker will give their all for Ashutosh Bhaiya. They will devote themselves wholeheartedly to ensure his victory,” Mishra said, his voice cracking with emotions.
The byelection to the Datia constituency, which Mishra represented for three consecutive terms until he lost it in the 2023 elections, was necessitated following the disqualification of sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti after his conviction by a special court in Delhi in a cooperative bank fraud case.
According to the sources, confident of getting the ticket, Mishra had already started preparing to fight the bypoll: held strategy meetings with his workers and well-wishers, got posters printed and put together his team for the campaigning.
But when the party announced Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate on Saturday, Mishra and his supporters were left stunned.
As soon as the news spread, Mishra’s supporters launched protests at multiple places, even resorting to violence. Hundreds of his supporters blocked the National Highway-44 and even clashed with police. Some party workers even resigned, but later vowed to work for the party’s candidate.
आज दतिया में भारतीय जनता पार्टी के अधिकृत प्रत्याशी माननीय आशुतोष तिवारी जी ने अपना नामांकन पत्र दाखिल किया।
इस अवसर पर माननीय मुख्यमंत्री @DrMohanYadav51 जी, प्रदेश अध्यक्ष श्री @Hkhandelwal1964 जी एवं प्रदेश प्रभारी श्री @bjpdrmahendra जी के साथ नामांकन कार्यक्रम में सहभागिता… pic.twitter.com/Gxs71q2dIx— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) July 13, 2026
Sources said Mishra has been summoned to Delhi by the central BJP leadership following which he appealed to his supporters to maintain calm.
Addressing the issue on Sunday, Mishra told reporters Sunday, “They are our own party workers. If they said something out of disappointment, we will speak to them and persuade them (to maintain calm).”
Also Read: Congress veteran, 6 ex-MLAs, to former Kamal Nath aide — MP BJP sees ‘200+ joinees from Oppn/day’
The generational shift
Explaining the party’s decision, BJP sources said that the party didn’t receive positive feedback from the ground regarding Mishra. Also, the party under a ‘younger party president’ (Nitin Nabin, 46) is pushing for a generational shift in several states, they said.
“It seems like the party did not keep him in the loop. And while most senior leaders were aware that he might not be considered, he did not have an inkling about it,” said a leader from MP on the condition of anonymity.
“The national unit (of the party) is awaiting a restructuring and it is likely that it will see more young faces. Similarly, not only in Madhya Pradesh, but in other states too, seasoned leaders will have to make way for younger ones. At 66, Mishra could have easily been fielded but the message from the central leadership is on grooming younger leaders,” said another state BJP functionary.
When asked about it, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya told reporters, “There are 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, and thousands of people prepare to seek a ticket. But ultimately, the party’s decision is paramount. All party workers abide by it.”
However, a senior party leader said that the decision to not field Mishra also stems from the fact that the party is keen not to have too many power centres in the state under Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
“During the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, he (Mishra) had assumed a lot of significance, from holding cabinet briefings to speaking on policy decisions of the government, he had set up a parallel power centre within the government,” added the leader, Mishra held the Home portfolio in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
“A number of senior leaders in the state government were apprehensive that his reentry in the Assembly and possibly in the government would result in him emerging as a distinct ‘power centre’ challenging the government as well as the CM,” added the leader.
Another party leader said that Mishra’s dominance and ‘larger-than-life’ image had overshadowed a number of state leaders and his 2023 election defeat gave them a chance to emerge from his shadows.
“His potential return as an MLA could have sidelined them once again and some local leaders had also covertly opposed his ticket. At the same time, the central leadership of the party has also shifted from personality-driven politics to focusing on highlighting ‘organisational faces’ for ticket allocation. We saw this happen in a number of other states too, and a similar strategy is being used in Madhya Pradesh too,” added the leader.
Mishra had made headlines for asking filmmaker Prakash Jha to consider renaming his web series, Aashram, “considering the spirit of the majority society”, after a group of Bajrang Dal activists vandalised Jha’s set in Bhopal and smeared his face with ink. Mishra had also asked Dabur to withdraw its advertisement showing a same-sex couple celebrating Karwa Chauth.
Another party leader said that with multiple ‘powerful state leaders’—including Chouhan, Vijayvargiya, Prahlad Patel, Narendra Singh Tomar as well as Jyotiraditya Scindia being the various power centres, adding Mishra to it would have complicated things.
“CM Yadav also is facing a number of issues at the administrative level as well as from a number of state leaders. Adding Mishra at this juncture would be a recipe for disaster,” he added.
Mishra: A Brahmin face
Mishra, a known Brahmin face of the party is often in his trademark kurta-pyjama, with a tilak. He didn’t have any ideological grooming in the RSS, unlike Ashutosh Tiwari.
At a time when the BJP was promoting a new crop of leaders in states and looking beyond Shivraj Chouhan, Mishra was also fancying his chances and had even tried to position himself as a Hindutva proponent in a bid to occupy the highest chair in the state, ThePrint had earlier reported.
“He was Chouhan’s confidant at one point of time but later on, he got into Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s good books and maybe this is the reason he was quite confident about getting the ticket,” said a party leader.
Mishra had also played an important role in what’s known as ‘Operation Kamal’ when 22 MLAs led by Jyotiraditya Scindia defected from the Congress, leading to the fall of the Kamal Nath government in March 2020.
Mishra started his political career as a member of the BJP Yuva Morcha, and went on to become a minister in the Babulal Gaur-led government in 2005. He has been part of every government since then, except for a few months in 2008-2009 when he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections against Jyotiraditya Scindia in Guna.
“During the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, he held the number-two position and was regarded as the most powerful figure in the cabinet. After becoming the Home Minister, he also initiated ‘bulldozer action’ in the state—modelled on the Yogi Adityanath government—and frequently made headlines due to his controversial statements. Some within the party claim that power got to his head and it was at this point that his downward spiral began,” said a leader.
On Monday, when Mishra accompanied Tiwari for filing his nomination papers, he could not control his emotions, but told the crowd everything was fine.
“What more could one ask from a party that keeps one as an MLA for 30 years and as a minister for 15 years?” Mishra said, Ashutosh Tiwari standing just beside him.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Why MP minister Narottam Mishra sparks a fire a day — same-sex Karva Chauth to Deepika’s bikini
20
584226
20
20
