A day after the BJP decided to deny former Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra a ticket to attend the Datia assembly by poll, triggering violent protests by his supporters, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday offered him its nomination, in an unusual political show targeting one of the BJP’s most popular leaders.
Sunil Sharma, Madhya Pradesh state president of the Maharashtra-based Shiv Sena (UBT), which is led by BJP friend-turned-foe Uddhav Thackeray, said the party has formally invited Mishra to contest the by-elections scheduled for July 30 after consulting the leadership.
“I made the offer to Mishra after talking to our leadership,” Sharma told news agency PTI. The party also released a video message inviting the BJP leader to join its ranks.
Sharma said that if Mishra accepts the offer, Uddhav Thackeray, his son and BSF youth leader Aaditya Thackeray, and other senior leaders, will campaign for him in Datia.
The offer came a day after the BJP named Ashutosh Tiwari as its candidate in the Datia by-election, snubbing Mishra, a former minister who represented the constituency several times before losing the 2023 Assembly elections to Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti.
The decision by the BJP has sparked an unusual backlash in Datia, where Mishra retains a great deal of political influence.
Supporters blocked National Highway 44 for about 12 hours, held demonstrations, shut down the market, and shut down the local BJP office. Protesters also clashed with police, throwing stones and vandalizing property, resulting in several police officers being injured when authorities used force and tear gas to restore order.
Several local BJP officials reportedly resigned in protest over the ticket denial.
What Mishra said
However, Mishra publicly called for restraint, and said nothing about Thackeray’s party’s offer.
Referring to videos circulating on social media that allegedly show supporters threatening to harm themselves, he said: “I urge all party workers… not to engage in such behaviour. Within the party forum, views are expressed in an appropriate manner. They are not conveyed in this manner.”
Later on Saturday, Mishra reiterated that “the party’s decision is paramount” and indicated that he would stand by the BJP despite the disappointment.
“I will definitely be part of the election campaign,” he said.
BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya also ruled out any rethink by the party, clarifying that Ashutosh Tiwari will remain the official BJP candidate despite the protests.
The Datia poll became necessary after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti, who defeated Mishra in the 2023 Assembly elections, was disqualified after being convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in a cheating case.
For the Shiv Sena (UBT), which has little organizational presence in Madhya Pradesh, the offer to Mishra appears to serve a political purpose beyond contesting Datia. This comes at a difficult time for Uddhav Thackeray’s party, which has itself been grappling with a protracted political crisis since the 2022 rebellion led by Eknath Shinde that split the otherwise undivided Shiv Sena. The Election Commission later recognized the Shinde-led faction as the official faction of the Shiv Sena and assigned it the party’s famous bow and arrow symbol, leaving the Uddhav Thackeray camp to act as the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Since then the party has suffered further setbacks, including the recent defection of six of its Lok Sabha MPs to the Shinde-led Sena, reducing its strength in Parliament to three members.
Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly accused the BJP of orchestrating division through political pressure and use of central agencies, allegations that the BJP has consistently rejected.
