PPP receives cold shoulder from its ‘strongholds’

PML-N makes inroads in Lyari and Malir by enticing voters with promises of peace.

KARACHI:

The local government elections are being termed a turning point for Karachi. Much has been speculated about their results. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) managed to retain its hegemony over the city's political circuit. No surprises there.

There were, however, plenty of surprises for other parties, such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which seems to have even lost its political say in its historical stronghold —Lyari. The very town where the PPP had boasted of its invincibility became a reflection of the people's disillusionment with its governance. This time, the streets no longer echoed with the popular 'Bija Teer Bija'. This time, the people decided they would no longer be placated with the rhetoric of loyalty.



What was even more striking was the fact that not a single banner or poster in Lyari displayed the picture of PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. Rather, they used pictures of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to woo old workers.

Cold response

The voters' response to the PPP was as latent as in the 2013 general elections. PPP candidates barely secured public support from the Kutchi belt that falls on both sides of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Road, where nine of the 15 union committees (UCs) are located.

Even before the LG elections, scores of the party's long-time workers had pledged allegiance to other parties, such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N).

Overall, only six of the PPP's candidates, contesting from UCs 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 16, managed to win the polls on the party's election symbol — an arrow. The PPP leadership claims, however, that three independent candidates will join the party in the coming days.

Counter-claims

"They are actually our candidates," claimed Lyari's only MNA Shahjahan Baloch, adding that a few candidates contested the LG polls independently due to some internal issues.

"It was a good result for us," Baloch justified, adding that the PPP candidates had secured less UCs in past. "We kept the ground open for all political parties to contest the elections. Everyone was free to conduct election campaigns," he added.

PML-N makes ground

Interestingly, the PML-N has emerged the second-most popular party from Lyari for the first time in the LG elections. It has won four seats.



"We were expecting a larger victory in Lyari," said Suleman Patel, the party's senior vice-president for Karachi. "Our candidates contested against all parties, including the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami," Patel said. The PML-N leadership successfully wooed the communities with the slogan of 'peace'. Another interesting angle in Lyari was that the youth openly supported the PML-N, after the PTI. The latter secured only one seat from UC 2.

"Our party restored peace in Lyari and across the city. People like us [PML-N]. The PML-N is the favourite political party in Lyari now," said Patel, adding that their other candidates were only defeated by a close margin.

Different area, same story

Another traditional stronghold of the PPP, district Malir, too seems to have snubbed the party this time around. Though the party has managed to bag only four seats out of the total 13, it claims it will elect the mayor of the district municipal corporation with the help of other allies and independent groups.

Malir is the only district in the city, which has also given a poor response to the MQM. According to unofficial results, the PML-N has secured a majority in this district with six seats, followed by the PPP. The MQM and an independent candidate have won one seat each. Meanwhile, the result of one UC is still unclear.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th,  2015.