Gawli to contest election from jail

Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli will contest the Assembly election from jail using his party's platform. Gawli has applied for bail before the high court, but it is yet to approve his plea, reports Sujit Mahamulkar.

Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli will contest the Assembly election from jail using his party's platform.

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Gawli has applied for bail before the high court, but it is yet to approve his plea. His party Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS) will go alone in the election and Gawli will contest from the new Byculla Assembly constituency. ABS has its alliance with the Shiv Sena in the civic body since 2007.

His daugther Geeta confirmed the development and said the ABS will contest only one seat from Mumbai and about four to five seats from rural Marathwada region.

Gawli had been elected to the Assembly from the Chinchpokli constituency on ABS candidature in 2004. But after the delimitation of Assembly constituencies, the Chinchpokli constituency has been merged with Byculla, Chinchpokli and Mazgaon and renamed as Byculla constituency.

Gawli is lodged in Arthur Road jail since September 2008 under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in connection with an extortion case.