Former underworld don Arun Gawli’s two daughters, Yogita and Geeta Gawli, have both lost in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, 2026.
Both sisters contested the elections from the Byculla area of Mumbai from the party Akhil Bharatiya Sena, which was founded by Gawli.
Geeta, who is a three-time corporator of the Brihan Mumbai Municipal elections, lost the elections in ward 212. She lost to Samajwadi Party candidate Amrin Shezad Abrani.
Yogita, meanwhile, lost her maiden electoral contest from ward no 207 to BJP candidate Rohinde Lkhande, marking an unsuccessful debut for the family's next generation in politics. The defeat is a setback for the the ABS, which once held significant influence in parts of Mumbai.
Arun Gawli is currently under going life sentence for the murder of a Mumbai Shiv Sena corporator. He was released on bail last September after serving 17 years in prison. The don is known as “daddy in Dagdi Chawl in Byculla. In the eighties and nineties, he ran a crime syndicate in the area as part of the Byculla Company, parallel to Dawood Ibrahim's D-company. Gawli was a member of the legislative assembly from Chinchpoli between 2004 and 2009.
The defeat showcased the diminishing power of the Gawli family in Mumbai.
In 2017, Yogita’s Aunt Vandana Gawli, contested the elections from Ward 207 and lost to the BJP candidate, Surekha Rohidas Lokhande. In 2012, she had won the polls.
The BJP-led mahayuti alliance is set for a massive victory in the BMC elections.
