Bhopal: Congress held a Jan Ashirwad Yatra and public meeting in Datia on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the July 30 assembly byelection, as political parties made a last push to reach voters before the 48-hour silence period came into effect. The rally followed BJP’s roadshow led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday and an earlier show of strength by the Azad Samaj Party.The Congress rally started from Gahoi Vatika near Sita Sagar and passed through Pitambara Chowk, Town Hall and other parts of the town before concluding with a public meeting at Kila Chowk. State Congress president Jitu Patwari appealed to voters to support party candidate Kunwar Ghanshyam Singh and criticised the BJP govt during his address.Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, former minister Govind Singh, Congress leader Avdhesh Nayak and other senior party leaders joined the rally along with party workers and supporters. Former MLA Rajendra Bharti also attended the event after remaining largely away from public campaign programmes, with his presence seen as an attempt by the party to project unity ahead of polling.The BJP, meanwhile, addressed a news conference in Datia, where state president Hemant Khandelwal said the byelection was an election for the constituency’s development and urged voters to elect BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari. He said the proposed defence park would generate employment and accused the Congress of running a campaign based on “misinformation” and “negative politics”. He also alleged that the Congress would blame EVMs if it lost the election.Senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra also appealed to voters to back the BJP, saying the party’s double-engine govt had focused on Datia’s development. Taking a swipe at the Congress leadership, he remarked that the party had fielded “a king without a kingdom and a patwari without a halka.”Campaigning ended at 6 pm on Tuesday, after which the constituency entered the mandatory 48-hour silence period ahead of polling on July 30. Counting of votes will take place on Aug 3.
