Electioneering: NA-246 candidates wrap up campaigning

K-Electric announces no load-shedding in NA-246 by-polls on the day of the election

KARACHI: The candidates contesting the NA-246 by-polls in Karachi wrapped up their election campaigns on Tuesday evening, two days ahead of the scheduled elections.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kanwar Naveed Jamil spent the entire day visiting markets in Liaquatabad and FB area, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Imran Ismail held a press conference at their camp office in Karimabad while Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Rashid Naseem went for a door-to-door campaign.

Read: NA-246 by-polls will decide the fate of Karachi: Imran

MQM leader Aminul Haque said that that the party had distributed voter cards among nearly 90 per cent residents of the constituencies. The day of the NA-246 by polls, April 23, will be beginning of end of PTI.

According to him, the party has made transport arrangements. Hi-roof vans, Qingqis and rickshaws have been booked to bring people to the polling stations. “Various Sunni ulemas had pledged to support the MQM on Tuesday while women are active in campaigning door-to-door.”

Read: NA-246 by-polls: Surveillance cameras to be installed inside polling stations, says ECP

PTI’s media coordinator Jamal Shahid said that Imran Ismail was scheduled to address a press conference before the deadline ended. A meeting polling agents was held on Tuesday at Insaf House.

Meanwhile, JI’s candidate met JUI-F chief Qari Usman, and asked for support in Thursday’s by-polls. He also went for door-to-door campaigning, said the party spokesperson Zahid Askari.

No load-shedding on polling day

Meanwhile, Karachi Electric has announced that there will be no load-shedding in NA-246 constituency on the day of the election.

“We have gathered all relevant details on the feeders supplying power to NA-246 and have exempted all such feeders from load-shedding from midnight of April 22 to the morning of April 24,” said the KE letter dispatched to the election commission secretary.

Read: Show of strength: MQM chief predicts smashing victory in NA-246 by-elections

The letter also added that special teams will be deployed in the area and will remain on standby during the election process.

“Any technical fault or a break down will be addressed by those teams immediately.”

The KE refused, however, to address any issues inside the polling stations. It asked the election commission to conduct a thorough survey before the election day to make sure there are no problems on Thursday.