BHOPAL: BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari took an early lead in the high-stakes Datia assembly bypoll on Monday, opening a 1,184-vote advantage over his nearest rival after the first round of counting.After the first round, Tiwari secured 4,551 votes, while Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh polled 3,367 votes. Damodar Yadav of the Azad Samaj Party was in third place with 1,917 votes.Counting began at around 8am with postal ballots before votes polled through EVMs were taken up. The exercise is being conducted over 15 rounds at 21 counting tables, including 20 for EVMs and one for postal ballots. Around 350 officials and employees have been deployed for the counting process.The bypoll was necessitated after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a criminal case. Bharti had defeated former home minister Narottam Mishra in the 2023 assembly elections, ending the BJP veteran's long dominance in the constituency.The contest assumed significance after both parties made unexpected choices. Congress nominated Ghanshyam Singh instead of fielding a member of Bharti's family, while BJP denied a ticket to Mishra despite speculation over his comeback and instead chose organisational leader and first-time contestant Ashutosh Tiwari.For BJP, the verdict is being seen as a test of whether the party can retain one of its most prestigious seats after replacing Mishra, while for Congress it is the first major electoral test of state president Jitu Patwari's organisational strategy ahead of the 2028 assembly elections.Counting is scheduled to continue through 15 rounds, with the outcome expected later in the day.