MQM begins electioneering for LB polls

Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) set up its first election camp in District South where senior party leaders conducted interviews of aspiring candidates for the upcoming local bodies elections.
After being politically cornered on account of the various controversies surrounding its alleged questionable activities, the party has focused all its energies on the upcoming local bodies elections.
For this purpose, the MQM has begun working on a mass contact campaign under which aspiring candidates will be interviewed and vetted for the posts of chairman, vice chairman and councillor. The first election camp was established in district South on Monday where a number of prospective candidates gave interviews to party officials.
Member of the MQM’s central executive council Haider Abbas Rizvi and a former councillor of Saddar town Syed Shakir have been given the task of conducting the interviews.
It has been decided that the MQM will hold its first meeting for planning its election campaign for the local bodies’ election after which it would announce its policy for giving tickets to candidates.
During the interviews conducted on Monday, several former UC nazims expressed their apprehensions over the prevailing uncertainty inside the party. They said they were afraid that if they adhered to MQM policy they would not be able to contest the election as independent candidates or receive support from the party. Meanwhile, the part is taking measures to adhere to the guidelines issues by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
A committee set up by the party to review arrangements and electioneering observed in its meeting on Monday that anti-MQM forces were actively conspiring against the party and trying to sabotage the local government election by trying to vitiate the political climate.
It said though the MQM currently is politically sidelined, it is determined to win a large number of seats in the local government election.