Hours after 3-year jail term, MP Assembly terminates Congress MLA Bharti’s membership
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat on Thursday night formally notified the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti from Datia constituency with effect from April 2, 2026.
According to the official notification published in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette (Extraordinary), Bharti has been disqualified under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, following his conviction and sentencing by a special court in Delhi.
Interacting with the media, Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar said that under Section 8(3) of the Act, read with Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution, any legislator sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more stands automatically disqualified from the date of conviction.
He added that the Secretariat acted on the court’s order in accordance with legal provisions and the 2013 Supreme Court directive, after receiving information regarding the conviction.
The notification stated that a Special Judge at Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, convicted Bharti on April 2, 2026, in a case involving criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh, resulting in a vacancy in the House.
Bharti, a three-term MLA, had defeated senior BJP leader and former Home Minister Narottam Mishra in the 2023 Assembly elections.
His disqualification comes as a significant setback to the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, as the party already faces challenges with another MLA,
Mukesh Malhotra, over his voting rights.
The case relates to an alleged decades-old fraud involving a fixed deposit in the Zila Sahkari Krishi Gramin Vikas Bank in Datia.
Bharti, who served as chairman of the bank from 1984 to 2000, is accused of forging documents linked to a Rs 10 lakh deposit in his mother’s name to extend its tenure and draw higher interest.
The FIR was registered in 2015, while the Supreme Court transferred the trial to Delhi in 2025 citing concerns over witness intimidation.
Reacting sharply, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar termed the move “undue haste” ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, alleging that Bharti’s membership was terminated late at night despite scope for appeal. He accused the BJP of targeting Opposition MLAs and said the Congress would challenge the action through legal and constitutional means.
