The crown of Karachi
NA-246 is the most sought after political constituency in Karachi, also known previously as the “Quaid-ka-Halqa”
The writer is Editor of The Express Tribune
If winning elections in Karachi is the objective, NA-246 is the jewel in the crown. It is the most sought after political constituency in Karachi and has also been known previously as the “Quaid-ka-Halqa.”
This is where records have been made in the past, with the MQM polling one of the highest votes in any constituency all over Pakistan. So for Imran Khan to come and challenge the party in this constituency makes for interesting times this week, when voters go to the polls in a by-election.
The MQM has won six times in this constituency, Jamat-i-Islami four times and an independent candidate once. In between, the MQM did not claim a seat because it had boycotted the National Assembly elections.
For more than twenty five-years, this constituency has been under the MQM’s dominance. This area wasn’t always known as NA-246. In the past it has been part of a larger constituency. From 2002, the constituency in its present shape came into being. What is interesting, however, is how this constituency has in some ways represented the mood of the people in Karachi.
In the 70’s and up till 1988, the Jamaat-e-Islami was the party of choice. But that era came to an end and the rise of the MQM started. I recall a picture that appeared on the front page of most papers of that time that showed the then Mayor of Karachi Abdus Sattar Afghani of the Jamaat-e-Islami being manhandled and a procession he was leading being tear gassed as he demanded that the motor vehicle tax collected from Karachi be given to the then Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. It was an iconic picture that showed how one era was giving way to another.
In the same year, the MQM won in the local bodies elections, overwhelmingly from the area which forms NA-246. We then saw the entry of Dr Farooq Sattar as the mayor of Karachi. They celebrated mostly on Shahrae-e-Pakistan in their large red KTC buses, which have now become extinct.
Who can forget the events of that time where the mood of the people shifted after the Bushra Zaidi incident and the subsequent ethnic riots in this part of the city. Incidentally, the accident took place in this constituency very near where Imran Khan addressed his supporters some days back.
The question now that is on everyone’s mind is whether the MQM’s era is now coming to an end. But unlike the Jamaat-e-Islami, the vote bank of the MQM largely remains intact. In the words of analyst Nadeem Farooq Piracha, the PTI and many other political entities that mostly derive their power and influence from areas outside of the Sindh province, do usually end up underestimating MQM’s genuine electoral popularity in the city.
What we have seen is that the PTI has done something that few parties have achieved in the past. They have polled consistently second to the MQM in a large number of Karachi constituencies. Imran Khan has correctly noted that the NA-246 by-polls will determine the fate of Karachi in times to come. The fact that the dominance of one party is under challenge is a good thing for democracy and also for voters in the area.
But winning a constituency is just half the battle. The larger issue is what to do after you have won it. So far, the PTI has not been able to do much in another constituency it won in the 2013 elections - the now famous NA-250. I recall the protest of Abdus Sattar Afghani about collection of taxes that should be given to the city. That issue remains even today.
By and large, while local bodies elections have taken place in Karachi on successive occasions, the larger issue is one that is true of other major cities in the country. That the mayor does not control the police and other functions of the government. Despite being elected by the vast majority of the people of the city. As a consequence, power is shared in a most unsatisfactory manner in the city and this leads to more problems than solutions. Our bureaucrats remain extra strong.
One wonders whether the PTI will be in a position to change all that if and when it comes to power in the city. That will be the real change.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2015.
This is where records have been made in the past, with the MQM polling one of the highest votes in any constituency all over Pakistan. So for Imran Khan to come and challenge the party in this constituency makes for interesting times this week, when voters go to the polls in a by-election.
The MQM has won six times in this constituency, Jamat-i-Islami four times and an independent candidate once. In between, the MQM did not claim a seat because it had boycotted the National Assembly elections.
For more than twenty five-years, this constituency has been under the MQM’s dominance. This area wasn’t always known as NA-246. In the past it has been part of a larger constituency. From 2002, the constituency in its present shape came into being. What is interesting, however, is how this constituency has in some ways represented the mood of the people in Karachi.
In the 70’s and up till 1988, the Jamaat-e-Islami was the party of choice. But that era came to an end and the rise of the MQM started. I recall a picture that appeared on the front page of most papers of that time that showed the then Mayor of Karachi Abdus Sattar Afghani of the Jamaat-e-Islami being manhandled and a procession he was leading being tear gassed as he demanded that the motor vehicle tax collected from Karachi be given to the then Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. It was an iconic picture that showed how one era was giving way to another.
In the same year, the MQM won in the local bodies elections, overwhelmingly from the area which forms NA-246. We then saw the entry of Dr Farooq Sattar as the mayor of Karachi. They celebrated mostly on Shahrae-e-Pakistan in their large red KTC buses, which have now become extinct.
Who can forget the events of that time where the mood of the people shifted after the Bushra Zaidi incident and the subsequent ethnic riots in this part of the city. Incidentally, the accident took place in this constituency very near where Imran Khan addressed his supporters some days back.
The question now that is on everyone’s mind is whether the MQM’s era is now coming to an end. But unlike the Jamaat-e-Islami, the vote bank of the MQM largely remains intact. In the words of analyst Nadeem Farooq Piracha, the PTI and many other political entities that mostly derive their power and influence from areas outside of the Sindh province, do usually end up underestimating MQM’s genuine electoral popularity in the city.
What we have seen is that the PTI has done something that few parties have achieved in the past. They have polled consistently second to the MQM in a large number of Karachi constituencies. Imran Khan has correctly noted that the NA-246 by-polls will determine the fate of Karachi in times to come. The fact that the dominance of one party is under challenge is a good thing for democracy and also for voters in the area.
But winning a constituency is just half the battle. The larger issue is what to do after you have won it. So far, the PTI has not been able to do much in another constituency it won in the 2013 elections - the now famous NA-250. I recall the protest of Abdus Sattar Afghani about collection of taxes that should be given to the city. That issue remains even today.
By and large, while local bodies elections have taken place in Karachi on successive occasions, the larger issue is one that is true of other major cities in the country. That the mayor does not control the police and other functions of the government. Despite being elected by the vast majority of the people of the city. As a consequence, power is shared in a most unsatisfactory manner in the city and this leads to more problems than solutions. Our bureaucrats remain extra strong.
One wonders whether the PTI will be in a position to change all that if and when it comes to power in the city. That will be the real change.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2015.