Datia (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 13 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday expressed confidence in the BJP's victory in the upcoming Datia Assembly bypoll, saying that the party is "united" and determined to secure a "massive victory" in the constituency.
Speaking to the reporters, CM Yadav said, "BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari filed the nomination today. We are united and resolved to secure a massive victory. While addressing the public meeting here, we appealed to the people for their votes. I am fully confident that the public will ensure a resounding victory, as Datia has paid a heavy price for electing the Congress in the past."
He also accused the Congress of making "false promises of development" to the people during their tenure.
"The momentum of development that was underway here was disrupted; the Congress made false promises of development, but true to their style, all progress came to a complete standstill. The MLA became negligent and faced various allegations. The public has witnessed all of this," he said, apparently referring to Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti, who was disqualified following his conviction in a fraud case
"...We have filed the nomination form for the Datia by-elections. We will win with a huge majority," CM Yadav told ANI.
Further, BJP leader Narottam Mishra also expressed confidence in the party's victory, saying that the BJP will "win with a good margin".
"We will keep appealing, and we will make the BJP win. The BJP will win with a good margin. You can see if development has taken place or not and compare if the Congress has done anything," Mishra said.
Mishra represented the Datia Assembly constituency for three consecutive terms after winning the seat in 2008, 2013 and 2018. He, however, lost the constituency in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Despite expectations that the senior BJP leader would be renominated for the bypoll, the party instead fielded Ashutosh Tiwari.
Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded Ghanshyam Singh for the seat.
The Election Commission of India announced that polling for the Datia Assembly bypoll will be held on July 30, while counting of votes will take place on August 3.
The Datia Assembly seat fell vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a fraud case.