Arrow, Book, Lantern, Tiger unite
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, flanked by Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz, addresses a news conference. SCREENGRAB
There are 1,047 candidates representing 26 parties in the 120 wards, 30 union committees and three towns in the Malir District. The Arrow (PPP), Book (JUI-F), Lantern (ANP), and Tiger (PML-N) are united in this region, which is considered the PPP’s heartland, despite ideological differences. are united in this region, which is considered the PPP's heartland, despite ideological differences.
Malir district's Gadap Town has 11 union committees, including nine from Ibrahim Hydari and ten from Malir Town. There are 743,205 voters including 425,687 men and 312,518 women.
According to the data, 236 candidates are competing for 30 chairman and vice chairman across three towns, and 811 candidates are competing for 120 wards.
PPP is contesting on 136 out of 150 total seats in Malir district, PTI 117, TLP 111, Jamaat-e-Islami 108, JUI-F 53, PML-N 47, MQM-P 28, PSP 30, Allah Akbar Tehreek 15, Rah-e-Haq Party 17, GDA 12, ANP 12, Pakistan Awami Tehreek 8, MWM 7, JUI-S 7, Pak Muslim Alliance (Dewan) 4, Pasban 3, Awami Tehreek 2, Hazara Qaumi Mahaz, PPP-Shaheed Bhutto and PML-F 1 while 323 independent candidates are also competing with political parties.
If the candidates are examined, the PPP and PTI each nominated 27 candidates for 30 union committees in the district, whereas the MQM-P candidates are only running in three of the union committees' elections for chairman and vice-chairman.
MQM-P has already lost its position in the Malir district. This is the only district of Karachi where the PPP candidate won unopposed the chairman and vice chairman seats.
Aside from this, the PPP has previously won the union committee Wards No. 3 and 4 before the elections.
Despite ideological differences, some unexpected alliances are also apparent in this election. On a few union committees, they are running for election under each other's election symbol, and the majority of these alliances are opposed to one another. ANP is officially on the book, and the PPP candidate is running under the Tiger symbol. JUI-F and ANP have allied with the union committee of Gadap Town.
In contrast, a four-member alliance of the PPP, PML-N, JUI-F, and ANP has been formed on union committee No. 7 Sherpao Colony of Ibrahim Hydari Town. Similarly, on another union committee, JUI and ANP Malir are electoral partners.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2022.