Maharashtra Polls: 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.