NA-249 nominees flexing muscles for tough contest on Thursday

Major political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Peoples Party, have cancelled their rallies in Karachi’s NA-249 constituency due to the rise in Covid-19 cases.

However, electioneering in Baldia Town is gathering momentum as all the contestants have been flexing their muscles to give one another tough time in the upcoming by-poll for the National Assembly seat.

Balloting will be held on Thursday to elect a public representative for the constituency. The NA seat had fallen vacant due to federal minister Faisal Vawda of the PTI resigning after casting his vote in the Senate elections.

All prepared

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, all arrangements have been finalised to hold the by-election for the NA-249 (Karachi West-II) constituency on April 29. Sindh Election Commissioner Aijaz Anwar Chouhan said that the by-poll for the constituency would be held in accordance with the announced date and schedule of the election. “Strict implementation of the coronavirus SOPs during the by-poll has also been ordered.”

There are 339,591 registered voters in the constituency: 201,656 male and 137,935 female. As many as 276 polling stations comprising 796 polling booths will be set up for the by-election: 458 for male and 338 for female voters. Electioneering in NA-249 will end at the end of Tuesday (tomorrow) at midnight.

KP leaders

To woo Pashtun voters in the constituency, the central leadership of the PML-N and the PTI have tasked their Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leaders to help their candidates in their respective election campaigns for the NA-249 seat.

PML-N KP President and former federal minister Amir Muqam has arrived in Karachi again and is visiting the Pashtun-dominated neighbourhood in the constituency, asking the residents to vote for Miftah Ismail, the party’s candidate for the NA-249 seat.

“After winning the recent by-polls in Daska, Wazirabad and Nowshera, the PML-N will also win NA-249 with a great margin,” said Muqam while addressing the party’s rallies in the constituency.

PTI MNA Sher Akbar Khan from Buner, MPAs from the Hazara Division and other leaders are also visiting the localities in the constituency to woo voters for their party’s candidate Amjad Afridi.

‘Character issue’

The Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) organised a rally to show its strength in NA-249, where Syed Mustafa Kamal, party chief and a candidate for the by-poll, said that the people have been leaving the political parties of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers to join the PSP in great numbers because they know that the issue is not of command but of character.

“The people of Karachi have witnessed me working day and night for the betterment of the financial capital of the country. No one else but we have viable solutions to the chronic problems of this country.”

He said that due to the incompetence of the rulers, Karachi had turned into a garbage dump today. He reiterated that only the PSP has the solutions to the city’s problems. He also pointed out that he had held various positions from MPA to senator.