Day before bypoll result, Congress suspends former Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti
In April this year, Rajendra Bharti was disqualified from the Legislative Assembly after a court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment in a fraud case.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Sunday night suspended former Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti from the party’s primary membership, just a day before the results of the Datia Assembly by-election conducted on July 30.
Rajendra Bharti had defeated former home minister Narottam Mishra in the 2023 assembly election. (HT Print)
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The order, issued by AICC general secretary and Madhya Pradesh in-charge Harish Chaudhary, said, “with the approval of the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajendra Bharti, former MLA from Datia, is hereby suspended from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress with immediate effect.”
Bharti had defeated former home minister Narottam Mishra in the 2023 assembly election. However, in April this year, he was disqualified from the Legislative Assembly after a Delhi special court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment in a fraud case.
The suspension followed allegations of anti-party activities during the Datia by-election campaign. Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh submitted a written complaint to party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders, accusing Bharti of colluding with BJP leaders and attempting to sabotage the party’s prospects.
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“Bharti was working in collusion with BJP leaders and had received funding from the BJP. An attempt was made to harm the Congress party by distributing money among voters through Bharti’s supporters,” Singh alleged.
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“Bharti was working in collusion with BJP leaders and had received funding from the BJP. An attempt was made to harm the Congress party by distributing money among voters through Bharti’s supporters,” Singh alleged.
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Counting of votes for the Datia by-election is scheduled for August 3.
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.
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Home/India News/Day before bypoll result, Congress suspends former Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti
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