PPP seems strong in NA-230 Malir-II

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is confident that it will retain the National Assembly constituency NA-230 in District Malir which is a unique constituency of Karachi in the sense of being a balanced mix of urban, rural, industrial, and coastal areas.

NA-230 Malir II is one of the three National Assembly constituencies of District Malir. Some of the important localities included in the constituencies are Ibrahim Hyderi, Ali Akbar Shah Goth, Chashma Goth, Rehri Goth, Cattle Colony, Muzaffarabad Colony, Majeed Colony, Muslimabad, Sherpao Colony and some parts of Quaidabad.

It is a relatively newer constituency in Karachi, which came into being after an increase in the number of seats in the city due to the 2017 population census.

In the 2018 general elections, this constituency was NA-238. Syed Agha Rafiullah of the PPP won this constituency in the last general polls.

He bagged 29,598 votes defeating Hafiz Aurangzaib of the Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party who became the runner-up with 19,463 votes.

PPP again hopeful

“Five years back, I won this constituency with a margin of 10,000 votes and God willing this time I am going to retain this seat with a lead of 20,000 votes,” said Rafiullah, who is again the PPP’s candidate from the same constituency, as he spoke to The News.

He said that he did not see a candidate from any other contesting party posing any formidable challenge to his re-election to the National Assembly.

The PPP’s candidate acknowledged that residents of the areas included in his constituency had been facing numerous civic issues as they belonged to urban, semi-urban, rural, industrial and coastal village areas of District Malir.

He said the construction of road infrastructure and sporting facilities had been the focus of developmental activities in the deprived areas in his constituency in the last five years of his tenure as the MNA.

“This time, I would make efforts that people in my constituency shouldn’t face serious problems due to waste generated by the area industrial units and cattle farms,” he said.

Rafiullah said he would also make efforts to ensure that owners of the industrial units in his constituency reserved funds under their corporate social responsibility-related obligations to turn around the lives of labourers and their families.

PML-N — the challenger

The strongest rival of the PPP in the constituency seems the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which has fielded Muzaffar Ali Shajra in the constituency.

Karachi-based senior leader of the PML-N Ali Akbar Gujjar Advocate said the PML-N traditionally had a phenomenal vote bank in District Malir and this time, his party had bright chances to emerge victorious from NA-230.

He recalled that the PML-N emerged as a runner-up in the 2015 local government elections in District Malir and won some union councils. He said that in the 2013 general elections, the PML-N’s candidate, Abdul Hakim Baloch, won the National Assembly seat. “Backed by our allies in Karachi, we are again going to win seats in District Malir based on our vote bank to serve a vast number of underprivileged people in the area,” Gujjar said.

He stated that the PML-N’s candidates had been campaigning in District Malir with the solemn promise to serve the residents of underprivileged areas without any discrimination to resolve their basic civic issues in the shortest possible time, including health, education, water supply, sanitation and drainage issues.

Poll stats

The total number of registered voters in the constituency is 250,009, including 104,706 female voters.

The Election Commission of Pakistan is going to depute a total polling staff of over 2,100 personnel to conduct polling in the constituency. There will be 160 polling stations in the constituency with 310 polling booths for males and 284 polling booths for female voters.