A day after he was sentenced to three years in prison for cheating a bank, the legislative membership of Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Rajendra Bharti was on Friday cancelled by the State Assembly Secretariat. The move, however, drew sharp reactions from the Opposition party.
In a notification issued, the Assembly Secretariat disqualified Mr. Bharti’s legislative membership and declared Datia constituency as vacant.
“Consequent to his conviction for an offence and having been sentenced on April 2, 2026, to three years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh, Rajendra Bharti—the elected member from Constituency No. 22 (Datia) of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh—stands disqualified from the membership of the Legislative Assembly with effect from the said date, i.e., April 2, 2026,” the notification said, adding that the action was taken in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court on July 10, 2013, and pursuant to the Representation of the People Act, 1951 of the Constitution.
“Consequently, a seat in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant. In consonance with the judgment passed by the (special Delhi) court, an order regarding this vacancy was issued by the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In compliance with the said order, a notification was published in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette on April 2, 2026,” it added.
