BJP's Narottam Mishra sees fall in political coin: From acting as censor board, to tears over ticket denial in Datia

Mishra is 6-time ex-MLA; was minister in Shivraj Chouhan cabinet; on ticket denial now, he has said, “Must be some shortcomings in me. I'll become introverted."

Narottam Mishra was the home minister of one of 28 states, but regularly made national headlines nonetheless when he focused on Bollywood and TV series as his subject matter of scrutiny. That was almost three years ago, when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was at the helm in Madhya Pradesh. This week, the BJP leader was left in tears after being denied the ticket to contest an election altogether.

Mishra is a six-time MLA in Madhya Pradesh, having won three times from Datia. He was the home minister in the Chauhan cabinet and was constantly making headlines for speaking against Bollywood movies that he felt went against the BJP's ideology or “national interest”.

The unofficial ‘censor board’

Mishra was the MP home minister and the state government spokesperson from 2020 to 2023.

During this time, he frequently monitored promotional material, trailers, and songs, threatening legal action, bans, or policy changes over content he deemed offensive to Hindu culture or "Sanatan Dharma”.

When Bobby Deol-starrer ‘Ashram’ web series premiered its Season 3 in October 2021, Mishra questioned why directors only “dare to make movies targeting Hinduism”. Just two months later, he again made headlines, alleging that Sunny Leone’s music video of ‘Madhuban mein Radhika naache’ featured “obscene” choreography set to lyrics that revered Goddess Radha, thereby “insulting Hindu sentiments”. He accused the creators of deliberately targeting Hindu iconography.

Mishra threatened legal action against the makers and actors whenever he deemed something offensive. Most of the time, it yielded results in his favour as makers cut scenes or apologised.

In October 2022, Aamir Khan was in the crosshairs when he featured in a bank commercial with Kiara Advani, which showed the groom moving into the bride's home after marriage to take care of her ailing father. This angered Mishra, who called it a “direct attack on Indian traditions and customs”. He issued a public warning, calling on Aamir Khan to stay away from advertisements that “play with religious beliefs”, prompting significant social media backlash against the brand, too.

Around the same time, he also took on the makers of ‘Adipurush’, a recreation of the Hindu epic Ramayana, after critics were displeased with the visual representation of characters.

Narottam Mishra targeted director Om Raut, calling the portrayal of Hindu deities in the movie “unacceptable”. He explicitly pointed out that the character of Lord Hanuman was wrongly “depicted wearing leather”. The filmmaker got an official warning, with the then MP home minister threatening direct legal action in the state if the scenes were not removed or rectified.

Even costume colours face Mishra’s ire sometimes, with the most prominent example being the colour of the bikini worn by Deepika Padukone in the song “Besharam Rang” in Shah Rukh Khan-led ‘Pathan’ in December 2022. He took severe offence to the choice of colour and publicly termed the video “obscene”, alleging that the song was shot with a "dirty mindset." He targeted Padukone specifically, calling her a supporter of the “Tukde-Tukde gang” in reference to her visit to JNU during the anti-CAA protests in early 2020.

Narottam Mishra lost the 2023 Madhya Pradesh assembly polls from Datia even as the BJP retained power. Shivraj Chauhan was called up to the Centre and made the union agriculture minister; Mohan Yadav became CM.

This year, a bypoll was announced in Datia after the sitting Congress MLA, Rajendra Bharti, was convicted in a fraud case.

Mishra thought it would be his return to the assembly, but the party gave the ticket to Ashutosh Tiwari instead.

It resulted in violence in the area, with Mishra’s supporters blocking a highway and clashing with the police. He later denied speculation of discontent, but on Monday was seen in tears at Tiwari’s nomination rally.

Why was he denied a ticket?

Sources quoted by a PTI report said the state BJP unit had forwarded Narottam Mishra's name as its sole recommendation for the Datia bypoll to be held on July 30 after chief minister Mohan Yadav met senior party leaders on July 6. However, feedback from the central leadership in New Delhi suggested that Mishra's electoral position was not as strong as initially assessed, the report added.

Party insiders also claimed Mishra, a six-time MLA, could have emerged as another power centre in the state if he had won the bypoll and returned to the cabinet.