Victorian Liberal preselection battle over Western Metropolitan Region upper house seat

✓ Verified by 2+ sources

Key details reported by multiple sources:

• Moira Deeming was ousted from the Victorian Liberal Party’s upper house ticket (Western Metropolitan Region) on Sunday, 2024, by Dinesh Gourisetty in a preselection vote (Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, ABC, The Age).
• Dinesh Gourisetty provided a character reference for Kashyap Patel, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to grooming, sexually assaulting, and transmitting indecent communication to a child under 16 (Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, ABC, The Age).
• Patel was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment and a two-year community correction order in 2024 (Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, ABC).
• The Victorian Liberal Party executive resolved to hold a fresh preselection after Gourisetty’s character reference for Patel was revealed (Guardian, NewsCorp Australia, ABC, The Age).
• Moira Deeming was the only remaining eligible candidate after other nominees withdrew, securing the top spot on the ticket (Guardian, ABC, NewsCorp Australia).
• Moira Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party’s parliamentary room in 2023 after threatening defamation action against John Pesutto, later reinstated after a court ruling (Guardian, ABC).
• Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson stated Gourisetty is ‘not welcome’ on her team (Guardian, The Age).
• Gourisetty pleaded guilty to breaches of the food safety act in 2019 (Guardian, ABC).
• The Victorian Liberal Party’s vetting process failed to uncover Gourisetty’s character reference for Patel (Guardian, ABC).
• The party’s 18-page questionnaire for candidates includes questions about past drug use, dating app activity, and visits to brothels or strip clubs (Guardian, ABC).
• The Victorian state election is scheduled for November 2024 (Guardian, ABC, NewsCorp Australia).