#Bombayphile - Why Dawood Ibrahim’s Name Still Reverberates In Mumbai Politics?

Underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim might be sitting miles away from Mumbai in Karachi, but his name often reverberates in the politics of Mumbai. And this has been happening for the last three decades. Several politicians have faced allegations of being linked with India’s most wanted fugitive. The latest on the list is Nawab Malik, who recently secured bail from the Supreme Court.

Nawab Malik was a minister in CM Uddhav Thackeray’s cabinet. The Enforcement Directorate arrested him on 23 February 2022 in a money laundering case linked to Dawood Ibrahim. Malik was also a spokesman for the NCP and fiercely targeted the BJP. When the NCB arrested actor Shahrukh Khan's son Aryan, Malik strongly criticized the agency, claiming that the case was fabricated and that Aryan was arrested to extort money from his father. After Malik's arrest, the NCP alleged that it was the BJP’s move to silence him.

Nawab Malik’s political boss Sharad Pawar too had faced allegations of being hand in glove with Dawood in the decade of 90s. A municipal officer named G R.Khairnar alleged that Pawar had links with Dawood and he was protecting Dawood’s illegal constructions. Khairnar had made a list of properties owned by Dawood and was bulldozing them one after another. His campaign led to a tremendous uproar, and it was alleged that Khairnar was targeting a particular community. Consequently, his wings were clipped. Khairnar alleged that Pawar was behind the move at the behest of Dawood. He soon became an anti-corruption activist and on a public platform alleged that there were truckloads of evidence against Pawar. However, Khairnar never produced the said evidence, and Pawar was never prosecuted in any court of law.

Allegations of Khairnar were capitalised by the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance during the 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha polls. Shiv Sena’s Supremo Bal Thackeray even went to the extent of saying, “If they (Congress) have Dawood, we have Gawli.” Arun Gawli was a nemesis of Dawood. Eventually, the saffron alliance was successful in coming to the power. The allegations made by Khairnar played a major role in Pawar’s defeat.

Abu Azmi, the Maharashtra chief of Samajwadi Party, was embroiled in such a controversy. He was arrested under the stringent TADA law on charges of being part of 1993 Mumbai bombings conspiracy. Azmi was discharged due to lack of evidence. In 2005, a video was broadcast on Star News where he was seen in a function organised by Dawood in Dubai. It was the wedding reception of Dawood's younger brother Mustakeem. Azmi said that he was a distant relative of Dawood and hence attended the event and had no stake in Dawood’s illegal business.

Dawood escaped from Mumbai in 1986 and so far, all the attempts to apprehend or kill him by the Indian agencies have failed. However, his name is still used to conceive political narratives in Mumbai. The hatred and anger against his name amongst the people of India, especially of Mumbai, still has the potential for political capitalisation.