Gopal Shetty is a two-time Member of Parliament. He had also been elected as the Member of Legislative Assembly and Corporator 

The party decided to field Sanjay Upadhyay in his place from the Borivali Assembly constituency, upsetting the veteran politician and his followers 

After Upadhyay’s nomination was announced by the party on Monday, a large number of party workers and Shetty’s supporters staged a sit-in dharna to protest near his house

Some of Shetty’s supporters suggested that he contest as an Independent or from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) 

However, Shetty clarified that he will not leave the party

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Shetty had defeated actor Urmila Matondkar by more than 4 lakh votes