Tug of war: PPP’s infighting hints at division of votes
Reports of Sharjeel Memon receiving party ticket to contest PS-50 leads to differences.
"Sharjeel Inam Memon is too afraid of the Arbabs to contest from Thar," PPP’s Mir Fateh Talpur on Memon running from the Hyderabad Rural constituency. PHOTO: FILE
HYDERABAD:
The internecine wrangling among leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Hyderabad chapter, for winning the party tickets, runs a risk of exposing the party’s electoral invincibility in its Hyderabad Rural and Qasimabad strongholds.
And while the internal rifts reportedly spread, the party also faces external opposition from the Sindhi nationalists, who have formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamiat-e-Ulma-i-Pakistan, Sunni Tehreek and other parties to defeat the PPP.
There are three National Assembly and six Sindh Assembly seats in the district. The ruling party has been winning from the one National Assembly and two Sindh Assembly constituencies based in Qasimabad and Hyderabad’s rural talukas since they were created in the 2002 elections.
The PPP’s Syed Ameer Ali Shah Jamote won twice from NA-221, comprising Qasimabad and Hyderabad rural talukas, while the former provincial minister and PPP Hyderabad president, Zahid Bhurgari, was also elected twice from PS-47 in Qasimabad. Pir Amjad Shah Jeelani has retained his Hyderabad Rural constituency since the 1990 elections which was changed to PS-50 in 2002 from PS-37.
Replacements not well received
According to PPP sources, in the upcoming elections Jamote and Jeelani, who have their own support base in their respective areas, will be replaced by Bhurgari and former Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon respectively. The PS-47 of Bhurgari will be reportedly given to Jam Khan Shoro, PPP’s district vice-president and a leader of the Shoro community. “The party wants to accommodate both Memon and Shoro. And Bhurgari is too close to the high-ups to be denied the ticket. Hence, those with weak connections will bear the brunt,” a party leader told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
The nomination of Sharjeel Memon
The former taluka nazim of Hyderabad Rural, Khawar Bux Jahejo, led a protest in Tandojam against Memon’s candidature from his area, saying “outsiders should have no right to represent the people.”
Bhurgari, on the other hand, defended the candidature of Memon. “He was born in Tandojam and lived in Hyderabad.” He, however, denied that any decision has been made about the tickets. “The parliamentary board will announce the final list after completion of the scrutiny of nomination papers. We all will accept it even if I am not given the ticket,” he told The Express Tribune.
A veteran worker of the PPP, Mir Fateh Talpur, who was also among the hopefuls for a ticket, did not mince words while raking Memon and Bhurgari over the coal. “Memon is too afraid of Arbabs to contest from Thar and Bhurgari has done everything to please the leadership by giving out jobs and contracts to their people.”
He lamented that the party has now done away with the system for the award of tickets that prevailed during the life of Benazir Bhutto.
Jamote’s grievances against Bhurgari made rounds in the regional press. He blamed Bhurgari for weakening his case for the ticket for NA 221. He, however, said that he will wait for the final decision of the party.
Similarly, Jeelani is also annoyed with Bhurgari and Memon, according to his associates, but has avoided disclosing anything to the media. “The party has not announced any name for PS-50. It is too early to comment on what my reaction will be,” he said. Reports, however, have surfaced that talks are going on with the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional for Jeelani to jump ship.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2013.
The internecine wrangling among leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Hyderabad chapter, for winning the party tickets, runs a risk of exposing the party’s electoral invincibility in its Hyderabad Rural and Qasimabad strongholds.
And while the internal rifts reportedly spread, the party also faces external opposition from the Sindhi nationalists, who have formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamiat-e-Ulma-i-Pakistan, Sunni Tehreek and other parties to defeat the PPP.
There are three National Assembly and six Sindh Assembly seats in the district. The ruling party has been winning from the one National Assembly and two Sindh Assembly constituencies based in Qasimabad and Hyderabad’s rural talukas since they were created in the 2002 elections.
The PPP’s Syed Ameer Ali Shah Jamote won twice from NA-221, comprising Qasimabad and Hyderabad rural talukas, while the former provincial minister and PPP Hyderabad president, Zahid Bhurgari, was also elected twice from PS-47 in Qasimabad. Pir Amjad Shah Jeelani has retained his Hyderabad Rural constituency since the 1990 elections which was changed to PS-50 in 2002 from PS-37.
Replacements not well received
According to PPP sources, in the upcoming elections Jamote and Jeelani, who have their own support base in their respective areas, will be replaced by Bhurgari and former Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon respectively. The PS-47 of Bhurgari will be reportedly given to Jam Khan Shoro, PPP’s district vice-president and a leader of the Shoro community. “The party wants to accommodate both Memon and Shoro. And Bhurgari is too close to the high-ups to be denied the ticket. Hence, those with weak connections will bear the brunt,” a party leader told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
The nomination of Sharjeel Memon
The former taluka nazim of Hyderabad Rural, Khawar Bux Jahejo, led a protest in Tandojam against Memon’s candidature from his area, saying “outsiders should have no right to represent the people.”
Bhurgari, on the other hand, defended the candidature of Memon. “He was born in Tandojam and lived in Hyderabad.” He, however, denied that any decision has been made about the tickets. “The parliamentary board will announce the final list after completion of the scrutiny of nomination papers. We all will accept it even if I am not given the ticket,” he told The Express Tribune.
A veteran worker of the PPP, Mir Fateh Talpur, who was also among the hopefuls for a ticket, did not mince words while raking Memon and Bhurgari over the coal. “Memon is too afraid of Arbabs to contest from Thar and Bhurgari has done everything to please the leadership by giving out jobs and contracts to their people.”
He lamented that the party has now done away with the system for the award of tickets that prevailed during the life of Benazir Bhutto.
Jamote’s grievances against Bhurgari made rounds in the regional press. He blamed Bhurgari for weakening his case for the ticket for NA 221. He, however, said that he will wait for the final decision of the party.
Similarly, Jeelani is also annoyed with Bhurgari and Memon, according to his associates, but has avoided disclosing anything to the media. “The party has not announced any name for PS-50. It is too early to comment on what my reaction will be,” he said. Reports, however, have surfaced that talks are going on with the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional for Jeelani to jump ship.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2013.