KARACHI: The common man in whose name all policies are made and, if party manifestos are anything to go by, who is apparently the only reason why politics is conducted at all, also happens to be the very soul that remains the least bothered by it all because the system does not affect his life in any positive manner.

Oblivious of all the grand plans that the political parties have outlined in their respective manifestos just to improve his lot, the common man is continuing to work out one plan or the other to take more and better control of his own life.

“I have a generator at my shop and a UPS at home to ensure power supply which gets interrupted more often than not. Besides, I buy water through tankers. All this I have to do despite paying both water and power bills regularly. Will the next government be able to do something about it,” asks Mohammad Sadiq, who runs a shop in North Nazimabad’s main Hyderi market. Before waiting for the answer, the bitter man in his 50s brings the discussion to a close himself.

“I have seen enough elections and dismissals in my life to have any faith in such things. All I want from the system is to leave me alone and let me work out a life for myself and family.”

Sabiha Masood, a housewife in the middle class locality of F.B. Area, picks up the thread, saying political parties can only fool themselves with manifestos.

“The days are long gone when they meant anything,” she says. A graduate in her late 30s who has rejoined the teaching profession after a hiatus of some ten years, Ms Masood has two children who go to private schools over which, she complains, the government has no practical control either in terms of the fee they charge from their students, or the salaries they pay to their teachers.

“I am working again only to pay the school fee of my children,” she says, asking the political parties to put aside linguistic jugglery and tell her in plain language how they are going to touch her life “even remotely” when they have no way of controlling the price spiral that is “an everyday reality for so long.” Her counterpart in the posh Clifton area, Sadia Mushtaq, does not have any such concerns, but that is precisely why she is not bothered about what the manifestos say.

When asked how does she decide whom to vote for when she has no interest in the manifestos, she had an interesting tale to tell the gist of which was that she had voted once in her life and that was out of her curiosity to see what it was like.

“Beyond that, I have never felt the urge to waste my time on something that has no relevance to me,” she said, echoing the sentiment of many.

The counterpoint is made by Dr Ashraf Shaad, who runs a clinic in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. “Of course, I vote even though I have little faith in the manifestos that are announced as a mere formality before the elections.” Why? “Because picking up the lesser evil is still a job to be done.”