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Thursday March 28, 2024

MQM-P hoping to retain District Korangi amid PTI, TLP’s onslaught

By Arshad Yousafzai
January 14, 2023

District Korangi is a relatively new district of Karachi, which was carved out of District East a few years ago. It consists of largely Mohajir-dominated areas of Korangi, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony and their adjoining localities.

District Korangi has a total of four towns, 37 union committees (UCs) and 148 wards. Its towns include Korangi Town having 11 UCs, Landhi Town having 10 UCs, Model Colony Town having eight UCs and Shah Faisal Town having eight UCs.

Like in other districts of the city, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has dented the traditional Mohajir vote bank of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in District Korangi, especially in underprivileged areas. The MQM-P is also threatened by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami, which have not formed any alliance in the district.

The TLP factor may also benefit the JI and PTI by damaging the MQM-P’s vote bank. Journalist Abdul Jabbar Nasir told The News that the MQM-P decided to enter into alliance with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in two UCs due to powerful opponents.

He added that the TLP is a strong political force in Shah Faisal Colony, Korangi and Landhi and could secure a couple of UCs. The journalist termed the PTI, MQM-P and TLP as the three strongest contenders in the District Korangi polls.

Regarding the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), the headquarters of which is located in District Korangi, Nasir said the MQM-H could win in a few UCs but it seemed unlikely for it to sweep the entire district. The MQM-H recently declined merger with the MQM-P. It also stated that it would not consider boycotting the local government polls although it shared the MQM-P’s reservations about delimitations.

As Urdu-speaking people are a majority in the district, the PPP is not being considered a major force here. There are some pockets, however, where the PPP might clinch some seats. It has mostly formed alliances with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in the district.

In some UCs of the district, there is a significant population of Bengalis and Rohingyas who largely support three political parties. Of the three parties, the Pakistan Muslim Alliance-Khawaja is supporting the PML-N, which has fielded the largest number of Bengali candidates in the district, while the Pakistan Muslim Alliance-Dewan is supporting the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League Sher-e-Bengal is supporting the JUI-F. Interestingly, the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F have formed alliance in other UCs of the district to give a tough time to the JI, PTI and MQM-P.

The number of polling stations in District Korangi is 765. Of them, 401 are highly sensitive and 364 sensitive. A recent by-election in Landhi was marred by violence and Syed Mustafa Kamal, who has recently merged his Pak Sarzameen Party with the MQM-P, is still facing a case related to that violence in the Election Commission of Pakistan. A total of 2,099 candidates are contesting the polls in the district. Of them, 1,473 are vying for the seat of general member (councillor), and 313 for the seat of chairman and vice chairman each.

The total number of voters in District Korangi is 1,415,091, including 634,417 female and 780,674 male voters.