HYDERABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has made another inroad into the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), a few weeks after winning over Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh in Shikarpur district. This time it is in Matiari district as PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is said to have got Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote on his side.

Mr Jamote’s formal joining the PPP will be announced shortly. “I will announce this [his joining the PPP] by the end of this week,” he said while speaking to Dawn by phone on Tuesday.

The senior leader’s defection to the PPP will bring an end to his family’s political journey with the PML-F spanning over three generations. His late father, Zulfiqar Shah Jamote, and grandfather (and namesake), Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote, had been with the PML-F.

“Yes it is indeed a big decision which I have taken after discussing all pros and cons; otherwise the offer had been there since the 2013 general elections,” Mr Shah said. Mr Jamote, a graduate in agriculture studies from UK, owns a sugar factory, rich agricultural lands and a functional security providing company. His family is currently building a 600-bed hospital in Matiari.

He served as district nazim of Matiari after winning the 2005 party-less local bodies polls during the Musharraf regime when Matiari was carved out of Hyderabad as a separate district. He then went on to head an anti-PPP alliance in the 2013 elections with active support of Asif Zardari’s former friends, Ali Ahmed Nizamani and Nazir Rahu. But both Rahu and Jamote, as the alliance candidates, lost to PPP’s Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman on PS-43 and Dr Makhdoom Rafik Zaman on PS-44, though with a thin margin of around 3,200 votes.

The PPP did face a tough contest in 2013 in Matiari after Ali Ahmed Nizamani, Nazir Rahu and others who were not comfortable with Hala’s Makhdooms formed an alliance headed by Jamote. It led to a tough fight on one national and three provincial assembly seats of the district. For the first time someone as candidate against the late Makhdoom Amin Fahim bagged over 70,000 votes.

Syed Murad Ali Shah, Nisar Khuhro and a sugar factory tycoon have been in the loop on Jamote’s joining of the PPP. He had been consulting his friends like Usman Almani (son of late Alam Baloch), MNA Shabbir Bijarani, Sindh Minister Nawab Taimoor Talpur and others.

“Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote is promised that he will be the PPP candidate on PS-44,” a source close to him said. But it might involve acceptability factor viz-a-viz Makhdooms of Hala. “He knows this but Asif Saheb has assured him that he [Asif] will take care of it and that balance is maintained,” said the source.

Mr Jamote presides over different branches of Matiari’s Syeds. The late Pir Pagara had come to the Chehlum of his father and tied his turban to instal him as the 12th Sardar of the Syeds of Matiari. He was not feeling comfortable with the PML-F given the fact that there was no political activity although the party is an ally in the federal government of PML-N.

“I know it is a major decision and I have considered everything,” said Mr Jamote while confirming that he had a one-on-one meeting with Asif Ali Zardari soon after the 2013 elections. “That was the first one at one engagement. Then there have been several contacts from time to time telephonically with Mr Zardari after he left for Dubai,” said Mr Jamote.

He has perhaps realised that the PPP is here to stay in Sindh and that’s why he decided to join it. “There is a change of cabinet, and the party is now led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Since I got 40,000-odd votes, it means I must be with a party having support of masses,” he said. Mr Jamote believes he will have an independent ‘political working environment’ in his taluka, Matiari.

“CM Murad Ali Shah spoke to me last night and today. He is in Dubai for consultation with party leadership. We will soon be finalising a date for the announcement,” he said. He said he had consultation with his ‘Raj’ (Syeds of Matiari) and would have one more consultation besides other friends.

Among his Matiari friends are counted influential Memons, who were instrumental in the formation of the anti-PPP alliance besides Nizamani and Rahu. According to his claim, most of those alliance friends are on his side and he is likely to consult rest of them.

Earlier, Makhdooms of Hala had revived contacts with Jamotes after four decades, in a major development, before the by-poll for NA-218, which had fallen vacant due to the demise of Makhdoom Amin Fahim on Nov 21, 2015. Makhdoom Saeeduzzaman Atif, the younger brother of the late Makhdoom, visited Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote to seek his support for the previous 9Jan 18) by-poll.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2016