Electoral alliance: Makhdooms left out in the cold in Matiari coalition

PML-F, ANP, nationalists decide to field common candidate.

HYDERABAD: Dislike for the Makhdooms has united the Pakistan Muslim League - Functional (PML-F) and other nationalist parties into a grand electoral alliance in Matiari.

Under the banner of ‘anti-Makhdoom-PPP Ittehad’, a few former stalwarts of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party, Sindh Taraqi Pasand party, Sindh United Party and other nationalist groups have decided to field their candidates jointly on one national assembly and two provincial assembly seats in Matiari for the upcoming elections.

The Makhdooms of Hala have been prominent in Matiari politics since 1965, when the father of federal commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Makhdoom Muhammad Zaman Talibul Maula, won from this constituency.

“The Makhdooms and the PPP have not given anything to the city except hollow promises during the last four decades,” said PML-F’s Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Jamote, who used to be a distrit nazim of Matiari and has been elected as the convenor of the alliance. “They have failed to bring development and jobs for the people and have silently allowed the law and order situation deteriorate in an otherwise peaceful city.”

Jamote, who is also the son of late Senator Syed Zulfiqar Shah Jamote, announced the formation of the alliance at a press conference after a modest public meeting in Matiari on Thursday. The alliance has formed a 14-member committee that will select electoral candidates and negotiate support with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz. These two parties enjoy considerable support in the district and have yet to join the alliance.



The Memon community used to be a strong support for Makhdooms but have now switched their allegiance to the PML-F. Abdul Ghafoor Memon, the chief organiser of Memon Ittehad, will work as a deputy convenor in the coalition. The Memon community will bring around 50,000 votes out of the 294,589 registered votes in the district.

“The Makhdooms-led government in the city has failed to protect its citizens from criminals, while the dreadful state of development and joblessness is also apparent,” said Abdul Ghafoor.

Ali Ahmed Nizamani, a veteran politician who has remained a staunch leader of the PPP since the 1970s, said the apathy of the Makhdooms towards the city’s issues is untenable. “People complain about jobs but we get nothing for them when we convey these problems to the PPP leaders,” he said, explaining why he decided to abandon the ruling party.

Prominent families of Matiari, including Khaskhelis, Memons, Nizamanis, and Jamotes, have announced their support for the coalition.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2012.