Battleground NA-247

Never before in the electoral history of Karachi were the elections so unpredictable. The MQM enjoyed absolute electoral supremacy in the metropolis for nearly three decades, starting mid-80s. Before that religious parties — mainly the JI and the JUP — were the undisputed parliamentary representatives of Karachiites. But the contest is now wide open — almost in the entire city — thanks to the August 22, 2016 upheaval brought on the MQM all by itself. All of the PTI, PPP, PML-N, PSP, TLP — and a reunited MQM-P — are contending to become the voice of Karachi, and party chiefs themselves — Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto, Khaild Maqbool and Mustafa Kamal — are eying the grand prize of returning from the country’s financial hub.

Hitherto rare in case of Karachi, exciting contests are expected on the 20 National Assembly seats up for grabs from the megapolis in the July 25 vote. Among them, NA-247 stands out as The Battleground. It’s where political heavyweights have converged like PTI’s Arif Alvi, MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar, Mohammed Hussain Mehanti of the MMA, Aziz Memon of the PPP, Senator Mushahidullah Khan’s son Afnanullah Khan of the PML-N and young social activist Jibran Nasir.

Carved out after fresh delimitations carried out by the ECP, NA-247 is an amalgamation of NA-249 that comprised old city areas like Kharadar and NA-250 that involved posh areas of Defence and Clifton, and colonial-era neighbourhood of Burnes Road. Hence, the constituency is all about a mix of constituents belonging to almost all social classes. In 2013 elections, Dr Alvi had emerged successful from NA-250, most of whose localities are now a part of NA-247. But with the wave of support the PTI then enjoyed having dispersed bit, Alvi will face a tough time defending this seat. Even if a not-very-long-lost love for ‘kite’ does not rekindle among the voters, others in the fray are equally capable of filling the post-August 22 vacuum, and are working hard towards that end.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2018.

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