Eight police personnel, including Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayur Khandelwal and the Bhander Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP), were injured after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers clashed with police and pelted stones in Datia, Madhya Pradesh, in the early hours of Saturday, 11 July. The violence broke out during a protest against the BJP's decision to field Ashutosh Tiwari — and not former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra — as its candidate for the Datia Assembly by-election scheduled for 30 July.

How the violence unfolded

Tensions had been building since Friday evening. According to Datia Collector Swapnil Wankhede, a highway blockade by protesters began around 5.30 pm on Friday, triggering a traffic jam stretching nearly 15 to 20 kilometres on the Gwalior-Jhansi highway. Buses, trucks, and even an ambulance were stranded for hours.

'There was a traffic jam from around 5.30 pm on Friday. Buses, trucks and even an ambulance were stranded. We tried to convince the protesters, but as soon as we reached the spot, stones were pelted at us. We then used tear gas to disperse the crowd. There was no lathi-charge,' Wankhede told reporters.

Of the eight injured police personnel, six were admitted to hospital. Tear gas was deployed to disperse the crowd; officials confirmed no lathi-charge was ordered.

Damage and deployment

Several vehicles were damaged during the stone-pelting. A police vehicle was overturned, the SDOP's vehicle was damaged, and windows of multiple trucks were shattered. SP Khandelwal said approximately 3,000 people attempted to disrupt normal movement in Datia before police restored order.

'Nearly 3,000 people tried to disturb the atmosphere in Datia. They blocked roads and disrupted normal movement. The traffic jam has been cleared, and adequate police force has been deployed to maintain law and order,' Khandelwal said.

Heavy police deployment has since been made around the BJP office and other sensitive areas of the town to prevent fresh incidents.

The ticket dispute at the centre of the unrest

The BJP's decision to deny the Datia bypoll ticket to Narottam Mishra — a senior party figure and former state Home Minister — has triggered open resentment among a section of local party workers. The discontent has gone beyond street protests: several local office-bearers, including Datia district BJP president Raghuveer Saran Kushwah, have submitted resignations in protest.

Notably, this is not an isolated instance of intra-party friction over bypoll ticket allocation in Madhya Pradesh. Factional disputes over candidate selection have repeatedly surfaced in the state, though Saturday's violence marks a sharp escalation in both scale and consequence.

Situation and what comes next

The Gwalior-Jhansi highway blockade was cleared by Saturday morning after police dispersed the protesters. The administration has put sensitive locations under watch ahead of the 30 July by-election. Whether the BJP's central leadership will respond to the resignations and local resentment before polling day remains to be seen.