Veteran BJP leader and two-time MP Gopal Shetty rebels, set to contest from Borivali

Mumbai: Two-time Mumbai North Lok Sabha MP Gopal Shetty on Monday said he will file his nomination papers from Borivali assembly seat after his name did not figure in the fourth list of candidates announced by the BJP.

Shetty, who won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by margins of more than four lakh in 2014 and 2019, was denied a ticket in the 2024 general elections. The seat was won by senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal, who is now Union minister.

Shetty, a veteran of the Mumbai north region, was MLA from Borivali in 2004 and 2009. He was also corporator from the area for several years.

In its fourth list, the BJP named Sanjay Upadhyay as its candidate from Borivali.

A visibly disappointed Shetty said he would file his nomination papers as an Independent on Tuesday.

"I have been a loyal party worker for a very long time. Today, I went to help four BJP candidates to file their nomination papers. However, when the list was announced, I was dejected to see that I have not been fielded. The issue is not that I have not been given a ticket, the issue is that the candidate must have been a local BJP worker from Borivali," Shetty said.

"My supporters have stood by me for 35 years. They told me to listen to them (and contest). First Vinod Tawde contested from here in 2014, then Sunil Rane in 2019. This time, the Lok Sabha ticket from Mumbai North was given to Piyush Goyal. This is happening for the fourth time with Upadhyay being nominated," he pointed out.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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