KARACHI, Oct 6: The political winds sweeping across the city are blowing harder in the constituency of NA-255. The party with the kite is scrambling to make it fly, whereas the group holding the candle is effectively protecting it from being snuffed out.

Parties with other election symbols also have large stakes in this constituency, which covers a major part of Korangi and almost all of Landhi.

A visit to the constituency shows that several parties are active here. However, if we measure their activity by wall chalkings, banners and posters, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement — or MQM Haqiqi — is head and shoulders above all others.

Elegant models of the candle, MQM-H’s election symbol, in various shapes and sizes, built with diverse materials such as bamboo sticks, steel and plastic, adorn the road running from Korangi through Landhi, and also the roads leading deep inside. The buildings along the road are topped with the party’s flags and hung with banners, loudly pronouncing that only one party in this part of the constituency matters. Other parties, particularly the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, allege that Haqiqi activists remove their banners and flags and harass their workers who try to carry out any election activity in certain areas.

Muttahida, the party that many believe actually belongs in the constituency, is visible in its election publicity items only on the fringes of the constituency, in areas which are not out of bounds for it. So are the Sunni Tehrik and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Parts of the constituency where people from different linguistic groups live also have considerable presence of the PPP and PML factions. Awami Colony, Mansehra Colony, Sharafi Goth, Burmese Colony, and Korangi Industrial Area are among the localities where these parties are active and effective.

Chances are remote that the national assembly seat may change hands. But in the drastically changed circumstances, i.e. smaller constituencies, voting rights at age 18 etc, such a possibility cannot be ruled out altogether. These parties, however, have spared stronger expectations for one of the provincial assembly seats that fall under this national assembly constituency — PS-122, PS-123 (part) and PS-128 (part).

The MMA’s Aslam Mujahid, fiercely campaigning for NA-255, is also a candidate for PS-125 that is part of NA-254. A PML-N candidate on the provincial assembly seat has withdrawn his candidature in favour of Aslam, further raising his provincial standing.

A former MPA and councillor, Jamaat-i-Islami leader Aslam belongs to the Urdu-speaking community and lives in Zaman Town, the locality squeezed by the two MQM’s from either side.

Mohammad Abrarul Haq represents the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He is a senior journalist and had been serving in the APP news agency until he retired some 10 years ago. He had also served the news agency in former East Pakistan before it became Bangladesh, after which he migrated to Pakistan.

Abrarul Haq wishes that Afaq Ahmed, head of the other faction of the MQM, allows him to campaign in Landhi and also heeds his piece of advice: “Afaq Bhai, hearts cannot be won at the end of a gun.”

Apparently he is right. But October 10 alone will decide whether those in physical control of the territory have begun to rule the hearts of their constituents.

In the past, the vote-taking performance of the MQM-H has been unimpressive. Mahmood Ahmed Qureshi is the MQM-H candidate for NA-255. He is a labour leader and the party’s information secretary. Younus Khan, candidate for PS-122 and Vice-Chairman of the party, says that they have made greater efforts this time and have higher expectations to net the national and provincial assembly seats.

Tariq Khan of the PML-N, an active supporter of party chief Nawaz Sharif, is focusing on the localities chiefly populated by Punjabis and Pakhtoons. In the last two elections, the PML-N had received a considerable number of votes in this constituency. Recently he was seen roaming about town with a tiger, his party’s election symbol, caged and hauled on a truck. People who peeped at the animal from close quarters claimed that it was actually a lioness and not a tiger. The gimmick, however, paid dividends and Khan pulled in big crowds of onlookers wherever he navigated the ‘tiger’-laden truck.

The PPP, which draws the majority of its votes from the various goth’s off the Malir river, has also been performing well. Its candidate this time is Syed Naeemuddin. The PPP campaign here has so far been lackadaisical.

As the election date gets closer, the electioneering engines are heating up. Those low on fuel at this crucial moment will naturally lag behind.

The other candidates in the run for the NA-255 seat are Khalid Hameed, (Fan); Abdul Sattar, (Lock); Javed Iqbal, (Helicopter); Waseem Muzaffar Khan, (Telephone); Shams-ud-Dhuha, (Fish) and Mohammad Hamza Ali Gohar, (Clock).

There are a total of 245,948 voters — 137,849 male and 108,099 female. NA-255, Karachi-XVII, comprises Bhutto Nagar, 37-B Landhi, Sweeper Colony, Sector 37-C, 37-K, Babar Market, Sector 37-D, 17,000 Road, Bait-ul-Hamza, Shahbaz Chowrangi, Pir Bukhari Colony, Khawaja Ajmer Colony, Sector 2-C, 37-A, Merith Park, 12,000 Road, Sector 2-B, 37-A, Shah Khalid Colony I and II, Tezgam Ground, Korangi Industrial Area, 10,000 Road, Awami Colony, 8,000 Road, Singer Chowrangi, Sector 36-B, Landhi 10,000 Road and 365 Road, Sector 36-D, 2,000 and 15,000 Roads, 36-C, Pak Muslim, Burmese Colony, Sherabad Colony, J-1 Area Korangi, 35-D Korangi, Sector 35-B, Data Nagar, Farhat Bungalows and Zaman Town, Labour Square, 43-B Korangi, 43-F, Sector 44-A, Korangi Government Degree College, 44-J and K, and Korangi Stadium.

Besides the above Landhi and Korangi areas, the following parts of Karachi City District, old Malir, are also part of NA-255: Moinabad No 1, Moinabad 2, Mohammad Nagar, Bhutto Nagar, Mansehra Colony, Goth Hashim, Goth Allah Ditta and Sharafi Goth.

The results of the last few elections for this constituency’s predecessor, NA-195, might illuminate the path for future speculations.

In the 1997 elections, Sheikh Liaquat Hussain of the Haq Parast Group won the seat with 26,692 votes. His runner-up, Sahibzada Muneeruddin Khan of the PML-N, got 19,949. The other 10 candidates with their results are: Amanullah Paracha, PTI 1,981; Baba-i-Mazdoor Umer Hayat, Independent, 127; Jam Sultan Ahmed, PPP-SB, 9,028; Dr Arif Alvi, MKP-KBG, 94; Syed Mehmood Hussain Hashmi, Independent, 180; Qari Sher Afzal Khan, JUI-F, 882; Mohammad Sabir Shamsi, Independent, 113; Nabi Dad Khan, PPP, 10,771; Naeem Khan, PMI, 669 and Naseeruddin, MQM-H, 11,568.

In the 1993 elections, the 15 candidates and their results were as follows: Prof N.D. Khan, PPP, 25,612; Haji Jalal Khan, HPG, 635; Khalil Ahmed Nainitalwala, Independent, 121; Dr Rahimul Haq, PML-N, 16,628; Sitara Begum, Independent, 63; Syed Ashraf Ali, Independent, 177; Syed Mehtab Haider, HG, 4,292, Maulana Abdul Shakoor, IJM, 3,529; Sheikh Masood Abdul Rehman, MDM, 776; Azmat Hussain, Independent, 61; Qazi Khalid Ali, Independent, 133; Mohammad Zaman, ANP, 2,199; Mohammad Ali Sheikh, Independent, 35; Mohammad Younus, Independent, 44 and Mufti Abdul Aleem Qadri, Independent, 425.

The 1990 election results were as under: Rehan Umer Farooq, HPG, 71,265; Sher Mohammad Baloch, PDA, 33,495; Maulana Abdul Shakoor Khairpuri, JUI, 7,732; Mohammad Usman Noori, JUP-N, 1,373; Pir Mir Azizullah Haqqani, Independent, 348 and Mohammad Sajid Mirza, Independent, 307.

In the 1988 election, the results were as follows: Haji Mohammad Hashim Khan, PPIS, 7,292; Ali Khan Jokhio, Independent, 288; Umar Hayat Khan Niazi, 106, Umer Farooq Khan, advocate, PAI, 1,198; Fida-ur-Rehman Darkhwasti, IJI, 12,718; Fazal Wadood Khattak, ANP, 4,156; Mahmood Hussain, Independent, 58,612; Meraj Mohammad Khan, PQMA, 710; Nabi Dad Khan, PPP, 24,153, and Nazir Ahmed, Independent, 354.

PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY: PS-122 is the only provincial assembly constituency that is completely in NA-255. PS-123 and PS-128 are almost 75 per cent and 50 per cent in this national assembly constituency.