Mumbai BJP Leader's Rebellion After Party Gives Ticket To "Outsider"

An assembly constituency in Mumbai saw the BJP workers protest against their own party after an "outsider" was fielded from there for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election. Upset over the decision, senior BJP leader Gopal Shetty - a strong contender for the seat - announced that he will contest the election as an independent candidate.

"It is necessary to oppose this tradition of fielding candidates from outside, so I will fight as an independent candidate," Mr Shetty told NDTV. "No matter what happens, I will not back down," he added.

The BJP has fielded Mumbai unit general secretary Sanjay Upadhyay from Borivali replacing sitting legislator Sunil Rane.

"I was not interested in contesting this election. But my supporters told me about the gravity of the situation. 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," said Mr Setty. Sanjay Upadhyay is not a resident of Borivali.

Gopal Shetty said that he got to know about the move of his party through "a TV flash". "I saw a TV flash that Sanjay Upadhyay got a BJP ticket from Borivali."

Earlier, addressing the party workers and supporters he announced his decision to fight polls as an independent candidate, insisting that he still supported the ideologies and policies of the BJP. "The BJP workers feel I should contest from here. Even other parties feel I should contest. But people of Borivali have told me that if you don't correct whatever has happened, no one will ever dare to stand up to the wrongs. So, I will fight this wrong decision. I am not against BJP's policies or ideologies, I support the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis. But I will fight this decision."

"So, I have decided to fill the form tomorrow and contest the election," he added.

Mr Shetty also claimed that he was not informed before the announcement was made."They didn't ask me before taking this decision. At least have a discussion. This is an insult to Borivali workers," a visibly disappointed Shetty said.

Many of his supporters, meanwhile, staged a sit-in protest against the party's decision with many claiming that due to the move,  the BJP might end up losing the safe seat.

"He will win with a record margin. We don't even know who Sanjay Upadhyay is. They have made Borivali a dharamshala (guesthouse)," said a BJP worker.

"Gopal Shetty should fight as an independent, he will win. BJP will lose this seat," said another worker.

Mr Shetty was an MP in 2014 and 2019 but was denied a ticket from North Mumbai in this year's general elections. The party gave the ticket to Union Minister Piyush Goyal instead.

The BJP has said that it will contest 146 of the total 288 seats, leaving four seats from its quota to allies including Yuva Swabhiman Party, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, Republican Party of India (Athavale) and Jan Surajya Shakti Paksha. The remaining 138 seats are for Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP.

Maharashtra will vote on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23.