KARACHI: Among the four major towns in the provincial capital with 13 union councils is New Karachi Town. It has an estimated total population of 684,183, according to the census held in 1998. The total number of registered voters is 360,403 of whom 195,400 are men and 165,003 women.

New Karachi Town is spread over 25.4 square kilometres and its union councils are Kaliana, Sir Syed, Fatima Jinnah Colony, Godhra, Abuzar Ghaffari, Hakim Ahsan, Madina Colony, Faisal, Khamiso Goth, Mustafa Colony, Khwaja Ajmer Nagri, Gulshan-i- Saeed, and Shah Nawaz Bhutto Colony. The town is a mix of upper middle, middle, and lower income classes.

Though not much enthusiasm has been seen so far in connection with the local body polls, the contestants have started corner meetings in different localities of the town. Some 268 polling stations have been notified in the town for the Aug 18 elections.

The police have conducted a survey and declared 242 polling stations as sensitive. They believe that the remaining 26 also need heavy deployment as any untoward incident can take place. The police have convened a meeting of the candidates and apprised them of the code of conduct devised by the Election Commission.

New Karachi Town was a component of the defunct district central, which is supposed to be a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The town is part of the National Assembly constituency NA-243 and NA-244. The town forms part of four provincial constituencies, i.e. PS-98, PS-99, PS-100, and PS-102. The two National Assembly and the four provincial assembly seats were bagged by the MQM in the 2002 general elections. Earlier, when the area was part of NA-188, the Muttahida’s candidate had secured the highest votes in the 1988 general election.

When the Muttahida decided not to take part in the 2001 local body polls, the field was open for others and the Jamaat-i-Islami backed Al Khidmat group managed to win a majority of seats and succeed in having its candidate elected as town nazim. As the Haq Parast group is now back in the fray, the chances of victory of any other group are bleak.

Although the Haq Parast group may not manage to win all the seats in the town due to delimitation of union council boundaries into small areas, it should secure a majority of seats and be able to elect its nazim and naib nazim. However, the people of the town will expect their future elected representatives to work hard for improvements since the outgoing team had brought about a tangible change.

The residents say the town was divided into two townships, one established before 1975 and the other after 1975. Sewerage drinking water supply, and roads were in a dilapidated condition as no attention was given to civic uplift for years. After the local government came to power in 2001, new pipelines for potable water were laid and sewerage lines were repaired. A storm water drain from Habibia to Nagan Chowrangi and another from Younus mosque to UP Mor were cleansed. Twelve primary and secondary schools managed by the city government were repaired and renovated. Furniture and books were provided to the Hakim Ahsan Library and a new library was constructed in Sector 11-E.

Observer say the Haq Parast group may face tough fights in union councils Kaliana, Fatima Jinnah Colony, Godhra, Abuzar Ghaffari, and Khamiso Goth. Most of the population in Kaliana is Saraiki and Pashto speaking and some of them are from the Hazara belt. Their tilt may not be towards the Haq Parast group. Their votes would be divided among different candidates.

In Fatima Jinnah Colony, a majority of the population belongs to the Qureshi community. They usually abstain from making alliances with any political party but vote for the candidate of their own community. So is the situation with the Godhra union council, where the Godhra community dominates.

However, in Abuzar Ghaffari union council, the Qureshi and Kathiawar communities are in the majority and their support could be crucial. Any candidate who succeeds in convincing the two communities may win the poll in this union council, observers say.

The Khamiso Goth union council consists of Sindhi and Balochi speaking people and their sympathies may go in favour of the opponents of the Haq Parast group. Observers believe that in Shah Nawaz Bhutto Colony, the Haq Parast group may secure the seat with a small margin.

A fear has developed among the people in general about the law and order situation on the day of polling. If the law enforcers succeed in maintaining law and order and removing this fear, a good turnout can be expected.