By IANS,
Mumbai : In a move that surprised many, mafia don-turned-politician Arun Gawli Tuesday opted out of the contest for Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency and will now support Congress’ Milind Deora.
Gawli will support the “secular and dynamic youth leader” Milind Deora, who is seeking re-election, Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS) spokesperson and Gawli’s daughter Geeta Gawli told IANS.
She said as her father was currently in custody under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), it would be difficult for him to campaign and move around the constituency.
“Although there was huge public demand for him to contest, he has decided to opt out in favour of Deora. The ABS will now support the Congress in Mumbai South,” Geeta Gawli, who is a municipal corporator, said.
Incidentally, Gawli’s hopes to enter Parliament will remain unfulfilled for the second time in less than a month.
Last month, the ABS’ merger with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) snapped after the party chief declined to give him a ticket from Mumbai South. The merger was exactly a month old when the ABS opted out of the arrangement.
Gawli is the sitting legislator from Chinchpokli constituency, his stronghold in and around Dagdi Chawl, his residence and the ABS’ headquarters.