Close fight expected in PS-63 comprising rural Hyderabad

Former journalist Ali Qazi is vying against PPP's imprisoned leader Sharjeel Memon

HYDERABAD: With a famous journalist pitted against a former provincial minister, imprisoned for alleged multi-billion rupees corruption, the PS-63 constituency comprising rural Hyderabad will witness an interesting contest.

Although over a dozen candidates are vying for the seat, the essential contest is between Muhammad Ali Qazi, who heads the fledgling Tabdeeli Pasand Party (TPP), and Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Sharjeel Inam Memon.

Another interesting factor in the election is the physical absence of Memon from the scene as he is under detention. Taking full advantage of this, Qazi has actively been canvassing for votes. Despite being a novice to the electoral process, the TPP leader's campaign appears to be showing propitious signs.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formally declared support for Qazi while the Grand Democratic Alliance has also not fielded any candidate against him. The TPP chief daily visits six to seven different locations to meet voters to seek their support. He has reportedly been receiving a warm response from villagers.

However, according to Qazi, his campaign is being threatened by the alleged influence of Memon on bureaucracy and the power of his money. "The whole establishment [the civil administration] is working for him [Memon]. Hundreds of branded cars are roaming in the area for his [Memon's] campaign," Qazi claimed, while talking to The Express Tribune.



As many as 160,241 people, including 85,990 male and 74,251 female voters, are registered in PS-63 which mostly comprises rural electorate. The constituency consists of a Tando Jam-based municipal committee and a Husri-based town committee in addition to a district council. The heads of all these three local bodies are associated with the PPP.

The PS-63, which was previously named PS-50, elected Memon for the first time in the 2013 general elections. He secured over 35,652 votes. Khawand Bux Jahejo, who is currently contesting as the PTI candidate for NA-225 Hyderabad, trailed behind him with over 19,369 votes.

The constituency, however, did not see its elected representative for around half duration of his five-year tenure in the Sindh Assembly. Memon spent almost two years in self-imposed exile. Some months after his return to Pakistan, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested him on October 23, 2017 from the Sindh High Court (SHC) premises in Karachi after the SHC rejected his application for the extension of bail. NAB, subsequently, indicted him on February 14 this year.

"He is even disliked by local PPP leaders of rural Hyderabad,"  said a party's local leader, requesting anonymity. "This is why not only the PPP's opponents but some PPP local leaders are also either secretly or indirectly backing Qazi."



PPP Hyderabad Rural Taluka President and former MPA Pir Amjad Shah and General Secretary Mir Sher Muhammad Talpur, whose brother heads Tando Jam municipal committee, are both out of the town. They did not even attend PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's public meeting at Memon's Rawal House, recently named after the party's chairperson as Bilawal House, in rural Hyderabad on Tuesday.

"Some union council [UC] chairmen also did not attend the public meeting," a PPP UC chairman, who requested anonymity, claimed while talking to The Express Tribune. He also maintained that Memon is considered an outsider in the constituency and his absence, lack of development in the area and charges of corruption have played adversely against him.

In Memon's absence, his son Rawal Memon and brother-in-law Zeeshan Memon are running his campaign. Both of them could not be contacted for their versions. According to the party sources, the two are mostly holding meetings with representatives of local communities at Bilawal House.

Nevertheless, despite apparent lacklustre in the PPP campaign, Bilawal's public meeting in PS-63 lent a huge support to the party's imprisoned candidate. However, the public participation at that meeting was less than the PPP's previous public meeting at the same place. Memon's campaign is also receiving indirect support from the PPP candidate for Qasimabad and Hyderabad rural based NA-225 Syed Tariq Ali Shah, whose father Syed Ameer Ali Shah was thrice elected from the same constituency.