Bhopal, October 26: Senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is known for walking into controversies, has once again hit the headline by making indecent remark on yesteryear actress Hema Malini during a poll rally in his Assembly constituency Datia. Highlighting the party's achievements during a poll-rally, Mishra said he has brought in a lot of developments in Datia.

Addressing a public gathering, Mishra said he has developed his constituency in a way that "Hema Malini was made to dance here." A video of his controversial remark went viral on social media and the Opposition grabbed the opportunity to corner the BJP and Mishra terming his statement an "insult to the women". Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: Congress Candidate Jitu Patwari Fries Puris at Roadside Stall, Shares Video.

Not only the Congress media cell or social media department, but some senior leaders also took jibe at BJP. "Listen to the real meanness of the honourable minister of Sanskari BJP towards women," Digvijaya Singh tweeted sharing the video.

Congress Hits Out at BJP

Importantly, Mishra, who has won three consecutive elections (2008, 2013 and 2018) from Datia, is facing a tough challenge from his old political rival and Congress candidate Rajendra Bharti.

Political circles are abuzz with murmurs that Mishra, who won in 2018 against Bharti with just 2,656 votes, is likely to face a tough contest because of the high anti-incumbency factor against the BJP which has been ruling Madhya Pradesh for nearly 20 years.

To counter the anti-incumbency against the BJP government, Mishra has come out with a strategy to present himself as a 'vikas purush' of Datia in the election. As the second most powerful minister (after CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) in the BJP government, Mishra has managed to get a lot of projects for Datia.

The Congress has earlier fielded the former BJP leader with an RSS background – Avdhesh Nayak against Mishra. However, an internal rift prompted the party to replace him with Bharti, as he had given Mishra a tough fight in 2018. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: Congress Changes Candidates in Four Constituencies After Protests; Check New Names Here.

Importantly, Bharti had also filed a case against Mishra in a paid news case. The verdict went in favour of Bharti, but was challenged and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the elections on November 7.

The campaign has reached an acerbic height with both BJP and the Congress fighting tooth and nail eyeing the state which is one of the five states going to the polls next month.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2023 03:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).