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Datia by-election: Congress made Ghanshyam Singh its candidate, will compete with BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari, voting on July 30

Samira Vishwas | July 12, 2026 5:24 PM CST

Both BJP and Congress have announced the names of their candidates for the by-election being held on Datia assembly seat of Madhya Pradesh. Congress has made former MLA Ghanshyam Singh its candidate. Whereas BJP has fielded Ashutosh Tiwari. Let us tell you that this by-election is being conducted after the membership of the then Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti ended.

Let us tell you that voting for Datia by-election is to be held on July 30. The last date for nomination is 13th July. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on July 14. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is 16th July. Counting of votes will take place on August 3, 2026.

Who is Ghanshyam Singh?

Ghanshyam Singh belongs to the Datia royal family.
72 year old Ghanshyam Singh is a very established name in the political circles of Datia.
He has a long and deep personal influence among the people of rural areas.
He is counted among the senior leaders of Congress in Gwalior-Chambal region.
He has been MLA from Datia twice and Sevdha once.
In the year 1993, he won Datia Assembly elections for the first time on Congress ticket and defeated Shambhu Tiwari of BJP.
In 1998, Congress canceled his ticket and made Chandan Singh its candidate, but he lost.
In 2003, Congress again gave ticket to Ghanshyam Singh from Datia and he reached the assembly by defeating Awadhesh Nayak.
In the 2008 elections, he lost to Dr. Narottam Mishra of BJP.
2013 Congress fielded him from Sevdha Assembly, but he lost to BJP’s Pradeep Agarwal.
In 2018, Singh again won by defeating BJP’s Radhelal Baghel.
He lost to BJP candidate Pradeep Aggarwal from Sevdha in the 2023 assembly elections.
Now once again after 18 years, Ghanshyam Singh has contested the elections from Datia.
Ghanshyam Singh’s father Maharaj Krishna Singh Ju Dev was also elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhind-Datia on Congress ticket in the year 1984.

Who is Ashutosh Tiwari?

Ashutosh Tiwari is a resident of Datia district. He is considered a grassroots leader.
Ashutosh Tiwari has been active in the Sangh and organization for a long time.
He is considered close to former CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
Has been associated with Sangh (RSS) since his student life.
Has been the divisional organization minister of BJP
Presently he is the state cell in-charge of BJP.
He has been the Chairman of MP Housing Board between 2020 and 2023. He held the status of Cabinet Minister.

BJP organization has appointed Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia as the chief election in-charge of Datia by-election. He will take charge of booth management, election strategy and intensive public relations. After Scindia’s entry in the by-election, the election has become more interesting. For Scindia, blooming in the Congress stronghold is now being considered as a battle of prestige and a big challenge. This by-election will also play an important role in deciding the new direction of Datia politics of Congress-BJP.