Maharashtra polls: BJP rebel Gopal Shetty announces withdrawal of nomination

Mumbai: Senior leader and former MP Gopal Shetty, who had filed nomination as an independent after the BJP denied ticket to him, on Monday announced withdrawal of his candidature from Borivali assembly seat in Mumbai.

The BJP has nominated Sanjay Upadhyay from the Borivali seat for the November 20 state assembly polls.

Monday is the last day for withdrawing nominations.

On Sunday, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde held a meeting with Shetty to persuade him to withdraw his nomination.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Shetty said, “I am withdrawing my nomination today. My objection was to the BJP’s style of functioning where decisions were taken without any consultation with party workers like me. The party was consistently nominating candidates for the assembly elections from outside, and it was presumed that it was being carried out with my consultation.” “I was never consulted when candidates were selected for the Borivali assembly segment (in the past). I am a party worker and I always expressed my concerns towards a certain style of decision-making,” he said.

Another BJP rebel, Sweekruti Sharma, from Andheri East assembly also announced withdrawal of her nomination.

Shetty’s rebellion was seen as a blow to the BJP in its stronghold.

He won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by margins of more than four lakh in 2014 and 2019, but 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 2014, Shetty won the Lok Sabha election, and the BJP nominated Vinod Tawde from the Borivali assembly seat, considered one of the safest constituencies for the party.

Tawde was not re-nominated in 2019 and he later became BJP’s national general secretary.