According to election officials, Gawli’s elder daughter Geeta, who was seeking a fourth term from Ward 212 in the Byculla-Agipada area, was defeated by Samajwadi Party candidate Amrin Shezad Abrahani
Yogita Gawli-Waghmare (L) and her sister Geeta (extreme right) along with their parents. File Pic/Instagram (@Yogeeta Gawli-Waghmare)
In a major setback to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, both his daughters lost the BMC Election 2026 from their respective wards in south and central Mumbai on Friday, reported the PTI.
According to election officials, Gawli’s elder daughter Geeta, who was seeking a fourth term from Ward 212 in the Byculla-Agipada area, was defeated by Samajwadi Party candidate Amrin Shezad Abrahani.
His younger daughter Yogita, who was contesting elections for the first time from Ward 207 in the Byculla-Chinchpokli area, lost to BJP candidate Rohidas Lokhande.
Geeta Gawli was first elected as a corporator from Byculla East in 2007 and later became a well-known local leader. She had also contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2012 and 2017 but lost on both occasions.
Gawli’s sister-in-law face defeat in polls
Gawli’s sister-in-law, Vandana Pradeep Gawli, who contested on a Shiv Sena ticket from Ward 198, was also defeated. She lost to Aboli Gopal Khadye of the rival Shiv Sena (UBT).
Gawli campaigned for his daughters
For the first time, Arun Gawli, a former MLA popularly known as the ‘Daddy' of Dagdi Chawl in central Mumbai, actively campaigned for his daughters. He took part in roadshows and public outreach during the election campaign.
The defeats are being seen as a significant decline in the Gawli family’s political influence in the Byculla region, where they had remained dominant for nearly 20 years.
Arun Gawli, now 76, was released recently from Nagpur Central Prison after spending more than 17 years in jail. Last month, the Supreme Court granted him bail.
He was serving a life sentence for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance wins major seats
Meanwhile, the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance has made decisive gains towards taking control of India’s richest civic body from the Thackeray family after nearly 25 years in power. The results weakened the combined challenge posed by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who had come together for the BMC elections after almost two decades.
The outcome dealt an embarrassing setback to the cousins, who had projected themselves as the main custodians of the Marathi manoos and regional asmita (pride).
Their campaign relied heavily on emotional appeals centred on Marathi pride, the inseparable link between Mumbai and Maharashtra, and claims of a “conspiracy” by the BJP to separate the city from the state, according to the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)
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