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

At a BJP rally at Madhya Pradesh's Datia on November 6, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra stood on the stage with his hands folded as Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia urged 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. The BJP leader unsuccessfully fought Mr Scindia, then with the Congress, in his stronghold Guna. A change in political equations - and parties - has 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 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 on 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.

Known to have the ear of Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr Mishra was being considered a front-runner for the Chief Minister post amid chatter of the BJP's plans to replace Mr Chouhan. While Mr Mishra has indicated he is in no such race, his claim to the top post cannot be ruled out considering his political heft. The biggest roadblock, however, is his upper caste background. In a state where caste equations play a big role, Mr Mishra's Brahmin background may not be his best bet for the top job.

The Rise

Mr Mishra started his political career on campus through the BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He was the secretary of the students' union in Madhya Pradesh's Jiwaji University from where he completed a Masters and doctorate. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1990 from the Dabra seat. Mr Mishra repeated the feat in 1998 and 2003. He got his first ministerial assignment in 2008.

The next year, he was defeated in the 2009 general election. He served two more terms a minister and clinched victories in the 2008, 2013 and 2018 elections, this time from Datia, before scoring the home minister's job. Though he is known for his Hindu hardline comments, Mr Mishra is known to attend Iftar parties organised by the Muslim community during Ramazan. In fact, he attended one such gathering this year too.

The Image

Mr Mishra is frequently in the news over his tough statements as home minister. In July, when a video of a drunk man urinating on a tribal man went viral, the minister ordered the demolition of illegal properties belonging to the accused. When the Congress raised questions, he said the bulldozer works per law, not the Congress.

Last year, responding to incidents of stone-pelting on Ram Navami processions, Mr Mishra had said that the homes from where the stones came will be reduced to rubble.

The Controversies

Mr Mishra is no stranger to controversies. While his hardline remarks and diktats to filmmakers have drawn more attention, the most damning allegations he faced in his political career were related to paid news and submitting false information in his affidavit ahead of the 2008 state polls. In 2017, the Election Commission of India disqualified Mr Mishra as an MLA and declared his 2008 election void. The action was taken on a complaint by Rajendra Bharti, the runner-up in the election, who is up against Mishra in this election too. Mr Bharti accused Mr Mishra of omitting bits of information in his affidavit and using paid news to boost his image. In its report, the poll panel accepted a committee's findings that 42 news items in Mr Mishra's favour constituted paid news. Later, the Delhi High Court set aside the poll panel's disqualification order. Mr Bharti then approached the Supreme Court.

Among the more well-known controversies linked to Mr Mishra are his diktats to filmmakers whom he accused of allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. The Besharam Rang song from Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Pathaan had drawn his ire. Fuming over scenes featuring Ms Padukone in a saffron bikini, Mr Mishra had threatened to ban the film in Madhya Pradesh. Later, he said there was no point in banning it as the Censor Board had taken care of his objections.

The next film to provoke his rage was Adipurush, when he slammed the presentation and costumes of the key characters in the movie based on Ramayana. Mr Mishra also questioned why filmmakers took such liberties only with Hindu gods.

Earlier, he had threatened fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee with legal action for a controversial ad campaign for a mangalsutra collection.

Corruption Charges

In 2017, the Income Tax department brought corruption charges against Mr Mishra. As Urban Development Minister, he was accused of receiving crores in kickbacks in return for granting tenders to a Hyderabad-based company. He appealed before the Income Tax tribunal and got relief. The tax department challenged the order in high court, which ruled in Mr Mishra's favour.

His name also came up in connection with the 2020 mutiny that brought down the Congress government. A purported sting video showed Mr Mishra allegedly involved in horse-trading discussions. The BJP rejected the visuals, calling them an attempt to malign Mr Mishra.