Tessori’s elevation

T he nomination of MQM-P leader Kamran Tessori as Sindh governor has raised many eyebrows. The tycoon from Karachi was never a promising political stalwart with the MQM, and had a trajectory of nursing severe differences with the party’s politburo. Yet his inclusion in the list of probables for governor was a surprise, and reflected the deep-rooted polarisation in the MQM and as to how it has decayed over the period of time.

Tessori had left MQM in 2017, only to rejoin it shortly as a convener, and that too after crossing swords with many of its heavy weights. Apparently this is why the party, which once was a thumb force of Karachi, is struggling to come up with a proper policy format on evolving issues of the largest metropolitan of Pakistan. MQM’s nominee in yester-years had ruled the roost at Governor House for more than a decade. While the tug of power politics keeps the office of chief minister away from MQM, governorship is closely eyed by the party as a means to an end. It also helps it in striking the right chord with the Federation, and acts as a bridge between the province and the federal government.

MQM with a massive electoral support in the past had evolved a vibrant equation between the Karachiites and the powers-thatbe, and this is why this time the party was quite serious in making inroads. The million-dollar question is: will Tessori be up to mark to deliver the needful? The answer could more aptly be replied by the MQM leadership that felt him relevant enough for the constitutional office in the presence of several committed, selfless and die-hard party workers.

This could be a make-or-break moment for the MQM, as it is on a defensive side to endorse its decisions since it walked out of Imran Khan’s cabinet. Tessori’s endorsement by President Arif Alvi under Article 101 after six months of hiatus is also in need or being studied. There is a reason to question the criterion on which nominees for high offices are judged and cleared, especially when the incumbents are under the scanner of cases lodged against them.