The Indian National Congress retained the Datia Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh on 3 August as its candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes in the bypoll, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The result hands Congress a significant morale boost in a state where the BJP has held power since 2023.

Final Vote Count

Ghanshyam Singh polled 66,757 votes, accounting for 42.39% of the total, while BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari secured 60,741 votes (38.57%). Azad Samaj Party candidate Damodar Yadav finished a distant third with 22,527 votes (14.30%).

Congress maintained its lead through most of the counting process. By the ninth round, Singh had opened a cushion of 9,519 votes. The BJP narrowed the gap in later rounds but could not overturn the deficit.

What the Winners Said

Speaking to reporters after the results were declared, Ghanshyam Singh framed the verdict as a mandate for change. 'This is a victory of the people, a victory of trust and a victory of the Congress party. It reflects the people's desire for change in Madhya Pradesh. The process has begun today, and the Congress will form the government in 2028,' he said.

Defeated BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari indicated the party would conduct a post-mortem of the loss. 'We will analyse the reasons for the defeat. Those who call the BJP their 'mother' have betrayed the party,' Tiwari told reporters at the counting centre, in an apparent reference to internal dissidence during the campaign.

Political Turbulence on Both Sides

The bypoll was marked by internal friction within both parties. The BJP fielded Tiwari in place of senior leader Narottam Mishra, the former Home Minister who had lost the seat to Congress in 2023. On the Congress side, former MLA Rajendra Bharti — whose disqualification triggered the bypoll — was suspended from the party's primary membership a day before counting over alleged anti-party activities.

Congress Media Department Chairman Mukesh Nayak credited the win to state Congress President Jitu Patwari. 'Under the leadership of Jitu Patwari, the Congress won this election. The party selected the right candidate, and Patwari united workers at every level. He visited nearly 250 polling booths, worked tirelessly, met people and mobilised party workers throughout the campaign,' Nayak said in Bhopal.

Why This Bypoll Was Called

The Datia seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a cooperative rural development bank fraud case. In the 2023 Assembly elections, Bharti had defeated then Home Minister Narottam Mishra by 7,742 votes, giving Congress the constituency after a gap.

What This Result Signals

Congress's ability to hold the seat — despite the disqualification of its own sitting MLA and internal dissent — suggests the party's organisational machinery in Datia remained intact. Notably, the BJP's failure to reclaim a seat it lost in 2023 will add pressure on the state unit ahead of the 2028 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. With Tiwari's own remarks hinting at internal betrayal, the BJP faces questions about candidate selection and ground-level cohesion in the region.