Among uncertainties, Karachi goes to vote today. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: All eyes are on Karachi as the city is being claimed by different political parties as their bastion.
The interest from leaders of various political parties can be gauged from the fact that three prime ministerial candidates, who are the heads of their respective parties, Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Imran Khan, Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif, are contesting from Karachi, the country's economic hub.
In the past, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) has won a majority of the national and provincial assembly seats. However, after Altaf Hussain's anti-Pakistan remarks in 2016 and an internal rift within the party, MQM may now suffer a blow in today's elections.
Around 346 candidates are contesting for 21 National Assembly seats and more than 900 candidates are contesting for 43 provincial assembly seats.
As the kite struggles to soar, other parties try to gain space in NA-254
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a total of 4,888 polling stations are located in the city, of which 2,371 are sensitive and 2,470 are highly-sensitive. "Around 15 people, including presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, polling officers and peons, will be deployed at each polling station. So the number of total election staff in Karachi stands at 63,515," a senior official in the ECP said.
Meanwhile, a select few constituencies can be considered "hot seats" where tough competition is expected. This includes NA-247 where heavyweights PTI's Arif Alvi, MQM-P's Farooq Sattar, PPP's Aziz Memon, MMA's Mohammad Hussain Mehni, PSP's Fauzia Kasuri and independent candidate Jibran Nasir are contesting the polls. Alvi won this seat in the last general elections.
A tight contest is also expected in NA-243 where Imran is contesting against MQM's Ali Raza Abdi and PPP's Shehla Raza. This seat was won by MQM in the last general election. The Bahadurabad area and some part of PECHS are included in this constituency.
Political parties complain they were not allowed to campaign freely
Shehbaz is contesting the NA-249 seat where Awami National Party has announced to support him. There are reports that Sharif may win this seat. However, PTI's Faisal Vawda, PSP's Fouzia Hameed, PPP's Qadir Khan Mandokhel and MQM-P's Aslam Shah are contesting against Shehbaz.
In Lyari's NA-246, another hot seat, PPP's Bilawal is up against PML-N's Saleem Zia, MQM-P's Mehfoz Yar Khan, PTI's Shakoor Ahmed Shah and PSP's Eijaz Ahmed. In 2013, Shah Jahan Baloch of PPP won on this seat. According to independent observers, the PPP may win this seat, but it will face tough competition.
Another seat where an interesting contest may be witnessed today is NA-244 where PTI's Ali Zaidi, MQM-P's Rauf Sidduqi, PML-N's Miftah Ismail and PPP's Mian Waqar Ahmed Paganwala are contesting against each other.
Meanwhile, Mustafa Kamal who has parted ways with the MQM and launched his own party, is contesting the PS-124 seat against MQM-P's Khawaja Izharul Hasan. According to independent observers, a tough competition will ensue between both leaders. Mohammad Ahsraf Jabbar of PTI and Munim Zafar Khan of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal are also in the run for this seat.
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