NA-236: Standard of living drops in constituency dubbed commercial hub

Election fever runs low amid ECP's strict code of conduct

KARACHI: After the new delimitations in Karachi, the National Assembly seats start from NA-236.

Mostly comprising goths and industrial areas, PS-87 comes under NA-236 while some parts of PS-88 and PS-90 are also included in the constituency.

It is mainly populated by Sindhis and Balochis, along with the presence of some other ethnicities and tribes. The politics of the Jokhio tribe is said to play a significant role in NA-236 while the Jutt, Magsi, Kalamti, Mullah, Brohi and other tribes also have influence in the constituency.

Based on the areas of former NA-257 and NA-258, an analysis of the latest delimitation shows that Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) position in the area is strong.

In the upcoming elections, the PPP has allotted Jam Karim Bijara a ticket from NA-236 while other candidates from the constituency include Muttahida Quami Movement - Pakistan's (MQM-P) Dewan Chand Chawla, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Masroor Ali, Grand Democratic Alliance's Muhammad Nadeem Memon, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's (PML-N) Qadir Baksh, Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) Qari Ashfaqullah, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's (MMA) Somar Baraft and other candidates. Meanwhile, the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has given its party ticket to a woman, Afshan Shah.



Political and religious parties, along with independent candidates have started to campaign in the area, however, the election fervor and campaigning no longer seems to be as vigorous as it was in the previous general elections due a strict code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Due to this strict implementation of the code of conduct, the candidates are finding it difficult to canvass for votes.

A unique campaigning strategy in the constituency is known as 'baithak' and 'otaq'. Baithak refers to candidates visiting the homes of political, social and religious personalities to request for votes. Apart from this, the candidates engage in corner meetings.

If the past history of NA-236 is taken into account, MQM's Muhammad Shamim Siddiqui, Sajid Ahmed and then Ahmed again were elected from NA-257 in the 2002, 2008 and 2013 elections respectively.

PPP's Sher Muhammad Baloch was elected from NA-258 in the 2002 and 2008 elections while the seat went to PML-N's Abdul Hakeem Baloch in 2013, who later joined the PPP and resigned from his seat. Later, Abdul Hakeem fought the elections on PPP's ticket and won the by-election from this constituency.

In the current political situation, a contest between the PPP, MQM-Pakistan and PTI candidates is expected. PPP has a firm political footing in PS-87, PS-88 and PS-90. However, it is still expected to face competition from PTI, MQM-Pakistan and other parties. Candidates of other political parties, including MMA, PSP, PML-N, TLP, Awami National Party and others are also engaged in the election campaign.



Commonly known as a commercial hub, the constituency includes Port Qasim, Steel Mill and the newly-constructed electricity house and industrial zones. However, despite widespread economic and business activities, the public is deprived of water, education, health, infrastructure and other basic facilities. The earnings of the majority of the people in this constituency are from agriculture, labour and other professions.

The PPP faces party differences at the local level in this constituency while other parties are in contact with each other for seat adjustments.

According to political circles, the position of PPP's candidate is stronger in NA-236. However, a competition is expected in PS-87, PS-88 and PS-90. Due to the division of MQM and other political matters, the electoral results on the NA seat and provincial assembly seats of these constituencies may turn out to be surprising. However, the overall political situation seems to be in favour of the PPP.