BMC polls: From ‘Daddy’ to ‘Didi’, Arun Gawli legacy faces test in Dagdi chawl; Geeta seeks fourth term | Mumbai News
MUMBAI: Wearing her trademark oversized sunglasses, Geeta Gawli strides out of the gate of Dagdi chawl in Byculla, the once-feared lair of her father, former underworld don turned politician Arun Gawli. At the peak of his reign of terror, Arun Gawli earned the unlikely sobriquet “Daddy”, while his wife Asha was referred to as “Mummy”. Geeta, who is standing for her fourth term as corporator, is on her evening campaign rounds and asks for votes as “Didi”.Geeta is contesting from ward 112, while her younger sister Yogita will make her electoral debut from the adjoining ward. Their father, Arun Gawli, founded the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS) and was an MLA from Chichpokli from 2004 to 2009. He was present when they filed their nomination forms but stays away from the daily rounds of campaigning. His photos, wearing a Gandhi topi and white kurta pyjama, are on all the campaign posters.
Geeta’s ward is in the city’s erstwhile mill precinct in Central Mumbai, where old chawls and dilapidated shops co-exist with gated high-rises. “I am focusing on redevelopment projects to ensure that they do not remain pending for years. During my tenure, I focused on CC roads and on providing drinking water,” says Geeta, who is accompanied by her mother. “Vote for the whistle,” blares a loudspeaker. That is the ABS election symbol. The ward has a mix of Muslim, Hindu and Dalit voters. Many in the ward say Geeta has been approachable and helpful. “She sent a recommendation to Nair Hospital to get my heart surgery done at a very subsidised rate two years ago,” says Abdul Majid from A N Traders. However, others from the ward, which has a sizeable Muslim population, are concerned that the ABS will back the BJP. “What is the point in voting for her then? It is a vote for the BJP,” says a Muslim vegetable vendor. Some in Dagdi chawl say there is still a sense of pressure to vote for Geeta because of her father’s image. “We fear the use of muscle power and dadagiri. Money power as well,” says a resident from the ward. Arun Gawli was once among the key figures in Mumbai’s underworld. He was convicted for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. Last year, he was released on bail after 18 years in prison. The appeal against his conviction is pending. The ward is reserved for women, and Geeta’s competitors include the Congress party’s Nazia Siddiqui and the Samajwadi Party’s Amrin Abrani. Geeta will have to contend with anti-incumbency, but she feels her consecutive terms here are an advantage. “It has helped me understand people’s problems and actually get things done,” she says.
