Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS) Both daughters of ex-gangster and former MLA Arun Gawli lost the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Geeta Gawli and Yogita contested from the Byculla area of Mumbai on the ticket of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABHS) founded by Arun Gawli.

While Geeta, a three-time corporator of the BMC, lost the election from Ward No. 212, her sister Yogita lost the election from Ward No. 207. Geeta lost to Samajwadi Party candidate Amrin Shezad Abrahani. Yogita, contesting her maiden election, was defeated by BJP candidate Rohidas Lokhande.

In September 2025, Arun Gawli was released from Nagpur Central Jail after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has recorded a historic performance in the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, signalling a major shift in the state’s minority voting patterns. The party won 125 seats across 13 of the 29 corporations that went to the polls, effectively displacing traditional players like the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in several regions. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), the party maintained its stronghold by winning the highest number of seats, with 33 corporators elected there.

In Mumbai (BMC), in a significant breakthrough, AIMIM won eight seats, making deep inroads into Mumbai’s minority-dominated pockets.

In Malegaon, while AIMIM performed strongly, the Islam Party (under the Malegaon Secular Front) emerged as the dominant force in Malegaon East with 35 seats, clearing the path for its Mayor. AIMIM secured 15 seats in Nanded, 12 in Amravati, 10 in Dhule, six in Nagpur and five in Thane.

AIMIM achieved unprecedented success in Solapur, winning eight seats. By sweeping all candidates in Wards 14 and 20, AIMIM has emerged as the second-largest party in the Solapur Municipal Corporation, trailing only the BJP. In Nagpur, the party secured six seats. Notably, Alisha Fahim Khan (wife of Fahim Khan) won from Ward 3-D. The party also made a clean sweep by winning all three seats in Ward No. 6.

The results indicate that Muslim voters in urban Maharashtra are increasingly gravitating towards AIMIM, moving away from the Congress-MVA alliance and the Samajwadi Party. By winning 125 seats, Asaduddin Owaisi’s party has positioned itself as a “kingmaker” in several hung corporations where no major alliance has a clear majority.

–IANS

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