Maharashtra Polls: Snubbed By BJP, 2-Time MP Gopal Shetty To File Nomination For Borivali Seat As Independent

Maharashtra Election 2024: Gopal Shetty, a two-time MP from Mumbai North, will run as an independent in the Borivali assembly election after being denied a BJP ticket.

Gopal 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

Source : Gopal Shetty Facebook

Mumbai, Oct 28 (PTI) 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. 

BJP minister Mungantiwar, Cong leader Wadettiwar file nominations from Chandrapur district 

Senior BJP leader and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday filed his nomination for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly election in Chandrapur district amid a show of strength.

Separately, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar of Congress submitted his nomination papers in Bramhapuri after addressing a gathering in the presence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Altogether 57 candidates filed nominations from six constituencies in Chandrapur district on the penultimate day of submitting papers.

Mungantiwar is in the fray from home turf Ballarpur constituency against Santosh Singh Rawat of Congress.

Wadettiwar, a former minister in the MVA government, will square off against Krishnalal Sahare of BJP in Bramhapuri seat.

Mungantiwar performed a pooja ritual at Kanyaka mandir at Mul tehsil before leading a rally of supporters and farmers to the SDO office at noon.

The BJP reposed faith in Mungantiwar by renominating him from Ballarpur, months after he lost the Lok Sabha election from Chandrapur to a Congress nominee.

Wadettiwar and Baghel addressed a massive gathering on the Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj ground. Baghel urged the people to elect Wadettiwar with a huge margin.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)