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Expressing "100 per cent" confidence in a Congress victory, the party's candidate for the Datia Assembly bye-election, Ghanshyam Singh, on Monday filed his nomination, asserting that the political equations have shifted in favour of the Congress after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied a ticket to its veteran leader Narottam Mishra.
Speaking to ANI before filing his papers, Singh stated that there is widespread resentment within the BJP ranks, which would ultimately benefit the Congress. "Narottam Mishra-ji's ticket being cut has changed the equations. The situation has shifted in our favour. There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the BJP; it is at its peak. The dissatisfaction seen on the streets has increased so much that those wounds cannot be healed now. No matter how much they say for show, many of their own people will work to defeat the BJP. 100 per cent of Congress is winning. There is no doubt about it," Ghanshyam Singh claimed. The nomination process saw a significant show of strength from the Congress party with senior leaders including former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, MP Congress President Jitu Patwari, and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar arriving in Datia to support the candidate. "Look, it feels good. I am feeling proud. Congress is the oldest party in the world. Its principles are very good, and its ideology is very good. It has made me a candidate from here, from Datia. I am grateful to the party and to all the leaders, and I am very grateful to the public because it was the public's opinion; my name was at the top in all the survey reports, which is why the party gave me this order," Singh expressed before filing his nomination. When asked about the presence of the Azad Samaj Party's candidate, Damodar Yadav, Singh dismissed the possibility of a triangular contest, labelling the party as "BJP's B-team" and an extension of the ruling party. "They won't be able to do much. The public has realised that they are standing [in the election] just to cut votes. They are sponsored by the BJP; they are the BJP's B-team. This is being discussed in every village. Even their own vote bank won't give them many votes. They will get a few, of course, but not many. There isn't much of a threat. It will be a direct, one-on-one contest, not a three-way fight," he added. Singh, who previously won the Datia seat in 1993 and 2003, remarked that while there is a "world of difference" between the political landscape of the past and the present, the public's desire for change remains the driving force of his campaign. The Datia Assembly seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Rajendra Bharti on April 2. The disqualification was under the provisions of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution. The Election Commission of India has announced that polling for the Datia Assembly bypoll will be held on July 30, while counting of votes will take place on August 3. Meanwhile, the BJP has announced Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate for the Datia Assembly by-election, replacing former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who had lost the seat in the 2023 Assembly elections. (ANI)
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