When state Congress president Jitu Patwari rushed to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly late Thursday night to stop what he called an “illegal midnight operation” to oust convicted Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti, the damage had already been done.

Patwari arrived at the Secretariat with senior leader PC Sharma after learning that Principal Secretary Arvind Sharma had reached the Assembly around 10:30 pm. Dramatic scenes unfolded on the premises as Patwari attempted to halt the disqualification by entering Sharma’s office. However, the move did not stop the disqualification of Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti, who was sentenced to three years in jail in a 27-year-old bank fraud case by a Delhi court.

Patwari alleged that the Secretariat was opened at night “at the behest of the BJP” to terminate Bharti’s membership, calling the move arbitrary and undemocratic. He said that when he and other Congress leaders raised objections, “the entire system had no answers.” He added that the Congress would “fight this politically motivated battle with full strength.”

Sharma said the proceedings set “a deeply troubling precedent in the history of Indian democracy,” and questioned whether decisions would now be taken “in the darkness of night rather than in the light of day.” He added that the concern extended beyond the Congress “to every citizen who believes in democratic principles,” and accused the Mohan Yadav government of pre-planning the sequence for political advantage.

BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai hit back at Patwari, calling his act unconstitutional.

“Patwari has no right to go to the Vidhan Sabha. He interfered with lawful activities in the assembly which is not constitutional. Assembly office is acting upon consequential effects of three years sentence handed by a trial court. He should go to court for any objections,” Bajpai said.

The disqualification was formally issued by Arvind Sharma in his capacity as Principal Secretary of the Assembly, with a communication also sent to the Election Commission of India.

Earlier, on April 2, Special Judge Digvijay Singh of the Rouse Avenue District Court in New Delhi found Bharti guilty in a case involving fraudulent manipulation of a fixed deposit held in the name of his mother, Savitri Devi Shyam, at the District Cooperative Rural Development Bank, Datia. The court also convicted former bank accountant Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati, finding that he had forged documents benefiting Bharti’s family in exchange for out-of-turn promotions. Proceedings against Bharti’s mother were abated after her death in 2019.

Bharti was sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs 1 lakh. The court granted him 60 days to file an appeal.

Bharti had won the Datia seat in the 2023 Assembly elections, defeating BJP’s Narottam Mishra. The victory was significant as Mishra, a six-time MLA and former Home Minister, had held the seat for multiple terms and was among the BJP’s most prominent leaders in the state.

Since his 2023 defeat, Mishra has remained active within the BJP and maintained his presence in Datia. With the seat now vacant, his name is widely expected to surface as a potential BJP candidate if a bypoll is announced. Mishra has made no public statement on the matter.