Maharashtra polls: BJP rebel Gopal Shetty announces withdrawal of nomination
Mumbai (PTI): 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.
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Air India Express increases flight operations from NE destinations
Guwahati (PTI): Low-cost airline Air India Express has announced an increase in flight operations from three major destinations in the northeast – Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal – as part of its winter schedule.
This is part of the airlines’ expansion of winter services across the country, it said in a statement here.
Air India Express has increased its operations to 106 weekly flights from 63 last winter, from Guwahati.
It provides direct connectivity to eight domestic destinations of Agartala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur and Kolkata. The airline also provides one-stop connectivity to 18 domestic destinations and six international destinations from Guwahati.
In Imphal, the airline hiked its weekly flights to 34 this season, an addition of 20 over last winter, the statement said.
Since adding Agartala as a station in September 2024, the airline has increased its flights from 14 to 21 weekly, and connects two destinations – Guwahati and Kolkata – directly.
It also offers one-stop connectivity from Agartala to 11 domestic destinations.
“The expansion not only facilitates easier travel for those wishing to explore North East, but also strengthens Guwahati’s role as a vital link with the rest of the country,” Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Ankur Garg said.
“With our fleet now exceeding 90 aircraft and rapidly growing, we are well-positioned to support the evolving needs of emerging Indian cities,” he added.
