Rise And Rise Of Narottam Mishra: Formidable No. 2 In Madhya Pradesh BJP

A six-time MLA, Narottam Mishra is contesting from the Datia constituency to return to the Assembly

At a BJP rally at Madhya Pradesh's Datia on November 6, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra stood on the stage with his hands joined together as Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asked the gathering to re-elect the six-time MLA in the election due this Friday.

Fourteen years and many elections back, it was Mr Scindia who had crushed Mr Mishra's Lok Sabha dreams by handing him a humiliating defeat in the 2009 general election when the BJP leader took on Mr Scindia, then with the Congress, in his stronghold Guna. A change in political equations - and parties - had now brought the two on the same team.

After the 2009 election, the two leaders' paths crossed again in 2020. The rebellion led by Mr Scindia toppled the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh in 2020. The next year, Shivraj Singh Chouhan formed the BJP-led government with the support of the rebel MLAs. Mr Mishra was given charge of the state home ministry, his biggest cabinet role across four terms as a minister.

Over the past three years, the 63-year-old has grown into a formidable Number 2 in Mr Chouhan's team of ministers. While the three-time Chief Minister positions himself as the adorable "mama" smiling and waving at rallies, Mr Mishra is the hardline Hindutva heavyweight, issuing diktats to filmmakers and sending bulldozers to raze homes of accused in heinous criminal cases.