Independent candidate from Borivali seat, Gopal Shetty holds a rally ahead of filing his nomination papers for the Maharashtra Assembly election, in Mumbai on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
In a big relief to the BJP, former parliamentarian Gopal Shetty has decided to withdraw his nomination from the Borivali constituency in Mumbai.
Borivali is known to be a BJP bastion. Mr. Shetty had stepped aside for Piyush Goyal during the recent Lok Sabha elections when Mr. Goyal was given a candidature from there.
Mr. Shetty had expected to be rewarded during the Vidhan Sabha elections. He has already been an MP for two terms and an MLA for two terms from the same region.
When the BJP decided to give a ticket to Sanjay Upadhyay for the upcoming elections, he chose to field his nomination as an independent candidate. However, after BJP leader Vinod Tawde met him, he has finally announced that he will withdraw his nomination.
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.
Mr. 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.
Another BJP rebel, Sweekruti Sharma, from the Andheri East assembly also announced the withdrawal of her nomination.
(with inputs from PTI)
Published – November 04, 2024 12:22 pm IST