BJP sees second claimant for Datia by-election ticket:Former BJYM chief says candidate in discussion is not local

A new contender has emerged within the BJP for the Datia by-election, with former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) district president Mukesh Mudotia writing to the party’s top leadership seeking a ticket. However, former Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra is widely considered the frontrunner for the BJP nomination. For the first time in 13 years, since 2008, a BJP leader has openly staked a claim for the ticket in Datia, a constituency considered to be under Mishra’s influence. According to BJP sources, Mudotia has written to senior leaders, including National President Nitin Naveen, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister JP Nadda, National Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Madhya Pradesh BJP chief Hemant Khandelwal, and Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav. In his 6 July letter, Mudotia raised the issue of local versus outsider candidates, saying the name being discussed is not a permanent resident of Datia. He urged the party to nominate a local, active, grassroots worker to boost the morale of party workers and send a positive message to the public. Enumerated his political achievements to the party leadership Mudotia wrote in the letter – the applicant is a four-decade-old worker of the party, who has successfully served as the District President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha twice consecutively from 2000 to 2005. The worker was entrusted with the responsibility of co-in-charge for migrant voters in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where he fulfilled his pledge to bring victory to the party. Not limiting his claim to just political grounds, Mudotia has also provided details of his social work. State Vice President said – Demanding a ticket is his right BJP State Vice President Ranveer Singh Rawat called Mudotia’s claim his right. He said, Every worker has the right to ask for a ticket in their party. The party high command finalizes tickets based on merit, demerit, and the probability of winning. Narottam Mishra, a resident of Dabra, won 6 elections Actually, BJP’s senior leader and former Home Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra is originally from Dabra. He had won elections from this seat three times in 1990, 1998, and 2003. In 2008, the Dabra seat became reserved. After this, Narottam contested elections from Datia and won three consecutive times in 2008, 2013, and 2028. In 2023, he lost the election to Congress’s Rajendra Bharti.