District Central residents chose JI over MQM and PTI because they ‘want action, not hollow promises’

The Jamaat-e-Islami’s January 15 local government election victory in District Central seems to make a lot sense in view of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) boycott of the polls.

District Central has five towns — New Karachi, North Nazimabad, Gulberg, Nazimabad and Liaquatabad — with 13 union committees (UCs) in New Karachi, 10 in North Nazimabad, eight in Gulberg, and seven each in Nazimabad and Liaquatabad. Of the total 45 UCs, JI has won 39.

Locals believe that since majority of the Central district areas comprise Urdu-speakers, JI seemed to be the only option after the MQM’s boycott of the LG elections.

New Karachi resident Muhammad Usman said he has been a supporter and voter of the MQM all his life. “District Central has a majority of the Urdu-speaking community,” he said, adding that they backed the JI this time because the MQM had lately failed to deliver in the district, then they ended up boycotting the polls.

He was also of the opinion that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had made room for itself in the district ahead of the 2018 general elections, but the party could not retain it because they also failed to deliver. But, he added, the JI ran an aggressive election campaign and was better prepared at grassroots level.

Shahana Salauddin, who runs a beauty salon in North Nazimabad, said she voted for the JI because she saw them work for the people. “They are working on education, and some of the kids in my family benefited from their work, particularly for placement exams.”

She also mentioned the fact that the JI had challenged the K-Electric bills when they had begun a referendum on the “unjust charges”. She asked who else had actually worked on the people’s issues among all the political parties. “Nobody except the Jamaat. The KE billing issues would’ve never resolved if it weren’t for the JI.”

North Karachi resident Arsalan Ali believes that the JI always had its vote bank in the district but it was not consolidated and charged, and they lacked proper leadership. After Hafiz Naeemur Rehman’s charismatic leadership, he said, many of the JI’s voters came out to vote for the party.

He said that in the late 1980s, JI had its member of National Assembly from District Central, when the MQM was at its peak, which meant that the JI always had a stronghold in the district.

Another District Central resident, Muhammad Hunain, said the JI’s electoral success in the district can largely be credited to other parties instead of the JI’s policies and campaign.

“Over the past decade, the performance of those in power has fallen short, and the people’s frustration has translated into them reaching out for straws, which perhaps appears to be the JI today.”

However, Zulfiqar Kunbhar believes that the JI had been very active on social media, and the party could also boast of two well-known mayors of the city. He also believes that the JI’s relief work during the floods had been impressive, which garnered much support for them even in District Central.

He was of the opinion that the JI had formed a very strong political network in the district after the MQM and the PTI, and the reach of both parties was nowhere near the JI’s. “It is unexpected for a right-wing party like the JI to use social media to woo their voters. But the JI did that and managed to get the maximum number of voters.”

The Pakistan Peoples Party, on the other hand, ran their election campaign on TV and in print media, but it did not produce good results as far as District Central is concerned, he pointed out.

As for the PTI, he said they did not have any network in the district on grassroots level. He remarked that the PTI is not yet accustomed to local-level politics in Karachi. Nazimabad resident Andaleeb said that the JI has a lot of supporters in District Central, and their supporters do feel that the Jamaat works on infrastructure whenever it is in power.