NA-250: Election signs yet to replace lawn billboards in city’s prestigious constituency

Home to politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, NA250 is unpredictable and tricky.

KARACHI:

As the largest constituency in the city, the NA-250 seat is a prestigious one for Karachi’s political parties - with almost all of them fielding their star candidates. The campaign itself is, nevertheless lukewarm as election signs have yet to replace lawn billboards on the main thoroughfares of DHA and Clifton.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 32 candidates are vying for this national assembly slot in the upcoming elections, but history shows that no party has been able to maintain its political ground for long here.

Popularly referred to as ‘the other side of the bridge’, the constituency comprises mostly well-maintained houses with neatly trimmed gardens, housing politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and diplomats. It also houses the city’s largest malls with numerous international brands, classy restaurants and the ever popular Sea View.

These elite localities are, however, surrounded by the slums of Neelum Colony, Punjab Colony, settlements around Kala Pul, Civil Lines and Railway Colony. These neighbourhoods provide a large number of domestic helpers to the well-to-do bungalows nearby. The thickly populated commercial areas of Saddar also lie within NA-250.

Most of the residents are from a diverse range of backgrounds - from Baloch to Pakhtun, Sindhi, Punjabi and Urdu-speaking. Though the ethnic division leads to a variety of political affiliations, it has rarely resulted in any major clashes.

Despite being a popular seat, the previous elected representatives have had little role to play in improving the living conditions of the residents - especially in the adjoining unplanned settlements. Residents are frequently faced with water shortages and a majority of DHA residents rely on water tankers.



The number of street crimes and robberies has also gone up over time, with extortion being the biggest complaint of traders in Saddar. Many roads are missing street lights and frequently suffer from major traffic jams. Rainfall still disrupts life in most areas of DHA and Clifton with water submerging major roads. The slums lack schools, basic health and sanitation facilities.

The security threats for election campaigns are looming over NA-250 as well and political parties have been unable to put up their flags and posters anywhere except Do and Teen Talwar.

Unpredictable and tricky

NA-250 is one of the most unpredictable and tricky seats for any political party in Karachi. Parties, such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), and even Jamaat-e-Islami have emerged as winners in the past, with the Pakistan Peoples Party closely behind them.

In the 2002 elections, MMA’s Abdul Sattar Afghani won the NA-250 seat by defeating MQM’s Nasreen Jalil with a margin of merely 2,048 votes. In the following elections in 2008, MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat took the lead by defeating businessman, Ikhtiar Baig, of the PPP by a relatively larger margin of 7,633 votes. Political parties do have trouble getting the voters out of their homes on election day - voter turnout hardly ever goes beyond 33 per cent. The residents are hopeful that this time around the youth are more excited about the elections so the turnout will be much higher

In the upcoming elections, the constituency will witness some first timers, such as the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen and the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, along with a handful of independent candidates. General (retd) Pervez Musharraf would also have been one of the contenders had his nomination papers not been rejected.

Following his ouster, Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, sister of Aafia Siddiqui, also pulled out of the election race. She had initially declared contesting the NA-250 seat against JI, her former ally. Almost all the big players in Karachi’s political scene have fielded their candidates, including the Awami National Party, Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam - Fazlur Rehman and the Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid, the real fight is between the candidates for the PPP, MQM, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and JI.

PPP’s Rashid Rabbani claimed that they haven’t won from this area before but they were the ones to beautify it in the last tenure. “We built parks and roads, and planted trees,” he said, confident that people will vote for the ‘arrow’ on May 11. Rabbani believes that PPP won this seat in the previous elections, but they could not emerge as winners due to rigging in the polls.



On JI’s ticket, the 82-year-old Naimatullah Khan, a former nazim, is also a strong candidate, whose posters and flags adorn the area near Delhi Colony where the party’s election office is. Khan’s credible reputation will play a major role in the elections in this constituency.

MQM may have a relatively tough time convincing voters to vote again for Khushbakht Shujaat. She admits, however, that her party was unable to address several issues in the previous tenure. The continued attacks on the party’s offices have not deterred this woman. Shujaat claimed she will continue her campaign.

PTI’s Dr Arif Alvi is confident of winning the seat - the party’s survey revealed that 34 per cent of the residents said they will vote for him. Dr Alvi has started organising small gatherings in the area, such as the one at Forum mall, and he said they will start corner meetings soon. “Our competition is with the MQM, but we will defeat them as the party did not perform,” he said.

Interestingly, all candidates have their faith in the local bodies system, and feel that it should be brought back.

The provincial seats

The NA-250 includes PS-112, which covers Railway Colony, Saddar and Clifton. MQM candidate Hafiz Sohail is contesting for this seat, which was won by the same party’s Mouqeem Alam in the previous elections.

The second provincial constituency within NA-250 includes Delhi Colony, DHA, and Civil Lines. The MQM is fielding Ali Rashid, a new candidate on this seat, against PML-N’s Saleem Zia, who won in the 1997 elections. JI is not fielding its candidate on the provincial seats and will be supporting PML-N. MQM’s Askari Taqvi won in the 2008 elections. PTI is fielding architect Samar Ali Khan, who is also the husband of actress Atiqa Odho, on this seat.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.