MQM gears up to sweep LG polls in Hyderabad

Party has been actively running its campaign in Hyderabad along with Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah

KARACHI: With the second phase of local government elections approaching next week, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is all geared up to sweep the polls in Hyderabad.

Under the slogan, 'Baiktiar Awam, Mustahkam Pakistan', the party has been actively running its campaign in Hyderabad along with Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah.

If the party wins the elections, party officials said that strong candidates for the mayor of Hyderabad are Sohail Mashadi, Rafiq Ajmeri and Zafar Rajput, who are all members of the MQM's zonal committees in the city. In the previous local bodies' system, the post of nazim of Hyderabad was held by Kunwar Naveed, who is now an MNA, while Rajput was a naib nazim.



For the election campaign, the party's Rabita Committee has formed a two-member subcommittee for each of the three divisions.

Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, the party is actively organising public gatherings, door-to-door campaigns and corner meetings for the elections. Party spokesperson Aminul Haque said that they will continue to address developmental and civic issues. "We will work on water problems and build flyovers and roads."

According to Haque, the party has won unopposed on 23 union councils (UCs) out of the total 96, while 198 general councillors out of the total 384 have been elected unopposed. "While political parties may form alliance with others to defeat us, the MQM will emerge as the victor," he said.

In the meeting at Hyderabad, Rabita Committee member Shabbir Qaimkhani said that his party does not make false promises and implements what it plans to do.



Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah

In other parts of Sindh, the party's parliamentarians have jumped in to give a boost to the campaign. Dr Farooq Sattar held eight corner meetings in Nawabshah while MPAs Khawaja Izharul Hassan and Faisal Subzwari have also visited the divisions. Though the party says it faces tough competition in Nawabshah with the PPP, in Mirpurkhas, it expects to elect a district chairman as done in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2015.