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Thursday March 28, 2024

Karachi’s lone wolves fancy their chances

Independents candidates believe they’ll do well like the ones in Punjab and other districts of Sindh

By our correspondents
December 02, 2015
Karachi
Haji Ilyas Pardesi, a member of the Memon community and a former councillor, has returned to the arena of Karachi’s politics after 14 years now that he feels that there is “space” for him to run independently.
“The crackdown on criminals in Karachi has created political room for independent candidates to participate in the local government polls,” said the former president of Kutiyana Memon Volunteer Corps who is the contesting for the chairperson slot in UC-14, Fatima Jinnah Colony, Jamshed Road No-3.
Pardesi noted that independent candidates had won a sizeable number of seats in the local bodies elections in Punjab and the other districts of Sindh, and this trend was likely to be witnessed in the polls in Karachi too.
“Independent candidates in Karachi are likely to pose a tough challenge to established political parties and win many seats in the city,” he added. Pardesi said in 2005 when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had swept the local government elections, there was little space for independent candidates to participate in them.
“It wasn’t easy to contest in the elections back then and risk the ire of the rivals,” he added.
In 1987, Pardesi was elected a councillor in the KP-55 East, defeating the Pakistan Peoples’ Party Munawwar Soharwardi, who was being tipped to win the election.
Later, he lost the polls in 2001 by a narrow margin to a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.
“But even then I had enough room to launch my campaign. But in 2005, things were really tough for independent candidates.”
He said his supporters were upset over his decision to stay out of the 2005 elections.
“I kept serving the citizens through welfare organisations. Now, it is high time that I reclaim my constituency again.”
Talking about the Memon community, he said its members had become more aware of politics; but were more focused on playing a neutral role for maintaining social harmony and ensuring economic prosperity.
“I am not representing Memons only. I own this city and my manifesto is to serve the people in my constituency without any discrimination.”
However, he added, Memon welfare organisations were supporting him as the mainstream political parties had failed to live up to the expectations of the citizens of Karachi.
Memon federation
Abdul Ghani Sulaiman, the general secretary of the All Pakistan Memon Federation, an alliance of over 70 Memon welfare bodies, said the community's organisations were not backing any specific political party, but members were supporting candidates in their individual capacities.
He added that many community members had supported Pardesi in the 1987 election.
“We are supporting him in our individual capacity. He [Pardesi] did not join any political party, but the problem with independent candidates is that after winning the elections, they join the party that could benefit them the most, and whole purpose behind voting for an independent candidate goes to waste.”
‘Dynamics different’
Geo News executive director of political affairs Suhail Warraich said similar to the trend seen in Punjab and other districts of Sindh, independent candidates in Karachi too are likely to bag seats in good numbers in the upcoming elections.
“The dynamics of the local bodies polls are different from the general elections. Voters know their candidates personally in the local government elections as the constituencies are small and that is why independent candidates perform well,” he added.
Instead of voting political parties, he noted, people voted for candidates on the basis of their personal character and charisma.
Recalling the past, he said political room had emerged in the 1979 too when the PPP government was overthrown and martial law imposed. “The emergence of new political space is quite natural in Karachi and I am expecting independent candidates to make it a good contest.”
On the contrary, senior analyst Mazhar Abbas does not see a sudden change in the dynamics of Karachi’s politics.
“Karachi is highly polarised and unlike in Punjab and rural Sindh, where biradari (catse) system plays a decisive role in elections,” he noted. “Karachi’s politics is derived by the voters’ affiliation with a political party, leaving a very small margin for independent candidates to make any difference.”
He said Lyari was a special case where many independent candidates were contesting as political parties were facing threats from gangsters.
“With the exception of Lyari, Orangi Town and the Pashtun-populated belt, independent candidates are not contesting in large numbers and political campaigns have been launched under the banners of political parties.”
Speaking about Memons, Abbas said they were representing their community in their individual capacities in political parties for example Farooq Sattar in the MQM and Muhammad Hussain Mehanti in the JI. “I don’t think Memons will stand by independent candidates. They have their sizeable representation in different political parties.”