Victorian Liberal Dinesh Gourisetty denies withdrawal amid party move to dump him

Dinesh Gourisetty denies withdrawing from the Victorian Liberal upper house ticket, after the party said he had. He beat Moira Deeming in preselection, but the party is moving to dump him over a court character reference he provided for a friend convicted of sexually assaulting a child. Gourisetty wrote a letter saying he intends to remain on the ticket and criticised the pressure to force him out. The dispute has split the party and risks further reputational damage ahead of upcoming elections.