No clear favourite in District Central due to many strong contenders

Karachi's District Central is poised to be a fiercely contested battleground in today's (February 8) elections.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) aims to reclaim its lost ground of District Central that was snatched from it by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the 2018 elections, in which the former could win only one of the four NA constituencies of the district.

Despite lacking the election symbol bat, the independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are a strong contender here. Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which had a clean sweep in the district in the last local government elections, is also strong here and its city chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also belong to District Central.

Besides these parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also seeks to secure votes in the district.

Though In terms of the population, District Central is the second largest district of Karachi, in terms of the number of voters, it is the largest district. Before the 2023 census, District Central was also the largest district in terms of population but after the new census, District East has taken the lead.

Due to the erstwhile undivided MQM’s head office Nine Zero in this district, it has had central importance in the politics of the city since 1985. However, after the anti-state speech of the MQM founder on August 22, 2016, political activities in the district have largely dwindled.

However, there is still a lot of influence of the MQM founder here and the independent candidates backed by the MQM-London pose a considerable threat to the MQM-P.

There are four National Assembly constituencies in District Central — NA-247, NA-248, NA-249 and NA-250. One of the most interesting battles is expected to take place in NA-250 between the JI Karachi chief, MQM-P’s Farhan Chishti and PPP’s Sohail Mansoor.

The NA-250 c0nstituency, which comprises North Nazimabad, Pahar Ganj, Shadman Town and adjoining areas, covers two Sindh Assembly constituencies — PS-129 and PS-130.

In NA-249, the MQM-P’s Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui is contesting against the PPP’s Abdul Waheed and the JI’s Muslim Pervez. The constituency comprises Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Paposh Nagar, Rizvia Society, Golimar, Gulbahar and adjoining areas. The Sindh Assembly constituencies in NA-249 are PS-127 and PS-128.

In NA-248, MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui is contesting against the PPP’s Muhammad Hasan Khan, JI’s Muhammad Babar Khan and others. The Sindh Assembly constituencies in NA-248 are PS-124, PS-125 and PS-126.

NA-248 includes Madina Colony, Kali Market, North Karachi Sector F, Godhra, Federal B Area, Hussainabad, Memon Colony, Kareemabad and adjoining areas.

In NA-247, the MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hasan is contesting against the PPP’s Sheikh Maaz Feroz, JI’s Zafar Khan and others. The Sindh Assembly constituencies in NA-247 are PS-122 and PS-123.

NA-247 comprises North Karachi, New Karachi, Khwaja Ajmer Nagri, Sindhi Hotel, Bilal Colony, Khameeso Goth and adjoining areas.

The total number of polling stations in District Central is 1,265. There are a total of 1,153,192 male voters in District Central, while the number of female voters is 991,734.

A total of 113 candidates are contesting for the National Assembly seats, while 259 candidates are contesting for the Sindh Assembly seats in the district.