Liberal membership is collapsing in the west. Bitterness about the treatment of an Indian community candidate runs deep
The Liberal Party is experiencing a significant decline in membership in Melbourne's western suburbs following a controversial preselection incident. Dinesh Gourisetty, an Indian community candidate, faced backlash after a vetting failure led to his disqualification. This situation has damaged the party's relationship with local Indian communities and prompted many members to leave.
- ▪Moira Deeming retained her seat after a contentious preselection process.
- ▪Dinesh Gourisetty's candidacy was undermined by a vetting failure involving a character reference for a convicted offender.
- ▪The fallout from this incident has led to a notable exodus of Liberal Party members in the western suburbs.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-05-20T19:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-05-20T19:00:00Z","description":"Moira Deeming kept her western suburbs seat after a preselection debacle earlier this year. Since then, local branch members have quietly abandoned the Liberal Party.","headline":"Liberal membership is collapsing in the west. Bitterness about the treatment of an Indian community candidate runs deep","keywords":"Liberal Party, Just in, Opinion, For subscribers, Victorian election","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chip Le Grand","jobTitle":"State political…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.