MQM confident about proving naysayers wrong yet again

Karachi

With all arrangements for the by-election in National Assembly constituency, NA-245, having been completed and electoral campaigns  drawing to close on Tuesday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) remains hopeful of retaking ground that its lawmakers had forfeited after securing victory in December's local government polls. 

Both national and provincial assembly seats of NA-245 — comprising of North Nazimabad and shanty settlements around it with some areas of North Karachi and Bufferzone — fell vacant after Muttahida MNA Rehan Hashmi (elected from NA-245) and Muttahida MPA Dr Arshad Vohra (PS-115) tendered their resignations when they were elected as vice chairman and chairman of the union committees of their respective union councils.

The constituency is dominated by Urdu-speaking population but a significant number of people are also Pashtun-speaking and also from minority communities of Bohra, Aga Khan and Christian communities.

Majority of the population belongs to middle and lower-middle income groups and a large number of people are also involved in business.

Talking to The News, MQM’s candidate for NA-245 Mohammad Kamal Malick said the whole election exercise was one-sided since his party enjoyed strong support from the constituents. “There is no challenge for the party,” he said confidently.

However, there was only once concern, said Kamal. “If the law-enforcement agencies do not create any hurdles like they did in NA-246 where many MQM voters were sent back or delayed from polling for no reason while many remained unaware of their polling stations, then all should go well,” he said. “We have the support of business, Christian and Pakhtun communities.”

Since 1988, the party has won provincial and national assembly seats from NA-245 with a comfortable majority.

Perhaps Malick’s optimism isn’t misplaced, especially since Muttahida candidates were elected in 50 out of 51 union councils of the constituency. The party lost UC 20 Pahar Gunj to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. According to the MQM leader contesting on NA-245, while campaigning for the election he did not see banner of any other party except the Pakistan People’s Party.

“Even the vice chairman of UC 20 Pahar Gunj, Sohail Khan Mandokhel, who is from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, is supporting us,” he said. “Moreover, the only constituency of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, UC 20, also supports us for the by-election on provincial and national assembly seats. Moreover, the All Pakistan Muslim League has also announced to support us. There is simply no contest for us.”

Malick said the jirgas and local leaders of Pahar Gunj, Shahrah-e-Noor Jehan, Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Kauser Colony other Pakhtun-dominated areas had met with MQM representatives.

However, the candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on NA-245, Amjadullah Khan, who is former student of Abdullah College, said if the by-election was not rigged then the people will definitely vote for his party. “The public is fed up of violence and want change,” he claimed.

He expressed his disappointment that the government had not announced a holiday in the city, and claimed this would prevent people from middle and lower-middle income backgrounds to cast their votes because they would be at work.

Khan also contested in the local government election from district East but lost to MQM with a margin of about 300 votes. He attributed the loss of last hour women-only mob voters who came to polling station in droves to cast their votes after 4pm.

 

Arrangements complete

Meanwhile, the election campaigns ended on Tuesday night and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) completed handing over of ballot papers and other required material to the district returning officers for the by-election to be held on April 7 on NA-245 and PS-115.

All in all, there are 16 candidates for the national assembly seat and 14 for the provincial assembly seat but the main contest seems to be between MQM, PTI and the PPP. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has already withdrawn its candidate in favour of PPP’s Shahid Hussain.

There are around 409,600 eligible voters in the constituency, according to ECP figures and 227 polling stations have been set up for them. For PS-115 there are over 162,000 registered voters and 83 polling stations have been established in the constituency.

Around 33 polling stations in NA-245 have been declared highly sensitive and 124 sensitive, with 70 remaining as usual. In PS-115, 66 polling stations were declared highly sensitive and 14 sensitive, with only three being normal. The returning officers for NA-245 is Ali Asghar Sial and Nadeem Haider will act as returning officer for NA 245, while Tabinda Khaleeq will be the returning officer for PS-115.