HYDERABAD: The second and third generations of noted politicians are taking part in elections in Sindh when 3,052 candidates would contest on 191 national and provincial assembly seats, according to Election Commission of Pakistan’s figures.

Sindh has 61 directly contested national and 130 Sindh Assembly seats.

The breakup shows that out of these 3,052 candidates, 346 candidates are in the field for 21 national and 912 for 44 Sindh Assembly seats from Karachi.

The remaining 1,794 candidates are in the run for 85 (otherwise 86 but PPP got his candidate elected unopposed on PS-6 of Kashmore) and 40 national assembly seats in the rest of Sindh.

Many are trying their luck for the first time and they also happen to be among second and third generations of these political families.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his father Asif Ali Zardari and his two aunts Faryal Talpur and Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho are in the race in Larkana and Benazirabad districts.

Bilawal would be fighting his first election from NA-200 besides Lyari’s seat of NA-246.

His father Asif Ali Zardari is contesting his first election after 1993 from his home district of Benazirabad on NA-213 where he would face Dr Qadir Magsi, chairman Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP).

Zardaris, Pir Pagara’s family & Makhdooms of Hala amongst prominent contenders

Asif Zardari’s two sisters Faryal and Dr Azra are vying for provincial seats in Larkana and Benazirabad respectively.

Pir Pagara’s family members are staking their claims too.

They are Pir Pagara’s son Syed Rashid Shah and his brother Sadruddin Shah’s son Ismail Shah.

Rashid Shah and Ismail Shah are contesting on PS-31 and PS-32 respectively.

Pir’s spiritual counterpart Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman is in the race along with his son, Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman.

Mehboob is grandson of late Makhdoom Amin Fahim. He would be contesting on provincial constituency of Hala against GDA’s candidate.

Sindh PPP president Nisar Khuhro’s daughter Nida Khuhro would be taking on Moazzam Abbasi, nephew of Dr Safdar Abbasi, a former PPP diehard and now PPP-Workers leader in one of Larkana’s provincial seats as her father is fighting election appeal in Sindh High Court Larkana circuit bench.

Abbasi-Khuhro electoral duel on PS-11 in Larkana is being seen as an interesting contest.

Mahar vs Mahar

Similarly, things are all set for interesting contests in upper Sindh’s Ghotki district involving Mahar family members.

Sardar Mohammad Bux Mahar, young tribal chieftain of Mahars, is fighting his election appeal after rejection of his form by election tribunal on PS-20.

His first cousin Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar alias Raja Mahar would be facing his real brother Ali Gohar Khan Mahar as PPP candidate following Mohammad Bux’s rejection of form.

Raja would also square off against former PPP stalwart Jam Saifullah Dharejo, who surprisingly joined JUI-F to win a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal ticket for PS-21 after he was denied ticket for the second time.

He served as irrigation minister in the 2008 government.

PPP’s Shabbir Bijarani, son of late Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, has been elected unopposed on PS-6 of Kashmore district.

Earlier, he had expressed his annoyance over party issues and had intended to quit the PPP in protest against Sundhranis’ attitude.

Veteran PPP leader Khursheed Shah is himself in the run along with his son and son-in-law in Sukkur district.

Elder Shah is to fight for NA-206 and Awais Qadir Shah, his son-in-law, is contesting on PS-23 to face Mohammad Ali Shaikh, brother of Aslam Sheikh, who has recently resigned as PPP-backed district council chairman after Ali was denied party ticket.

Farrukh Shah, son of Khursheed Shah is vying for PS-24 in Sukkur.

Observers do not rule out interesting contest between PPP’s Imtiaz Shaikh in Shikarpur on PS-7 against GDA’s Agha Taimur, who has remained a minister in PPP’s Sindh government of 2008.

Shaikh has only recently joined PPP after quitting PML-F.

Qaim Ali Shah’s daughter and PPP Parliamentarians information secretary Nafisa Shah would be fighting her first election on general seat of Khairpur, NA-209.

She reportedly got the ticket after great lobbying as initially the party favoured the Wassans for this seat. But then her father talked to party chairman and got the ticket for her. She remained district nazim in Khairpur in Musharraf’s 2001 LG system.

Jamshoro battle

Electoral bout between Malik Asad Sikandar and Dr Sikandar Shoro, suspended deputy general secretary of PPP Sindh, is another contest that is generating heat in Jamshoro on PS-82.

“Malik wants to beat Dr Sikandar Shoro with an overwhelming majority to teach him an electoral lesson for challenging Malik on his turf,” said a local resident of Kotri city.

Shoro is being backed by Jalal Mahmood Shah, president of the Sindh United Party.

Shah has challenged acceptance of candidacy of former Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah from PS-82 of Jamshoro before Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench on dual nationality ground.

The ex-CM claims he has already renounced his Canadian citizenship.

Mohammad Ali Kazi, who is in the media business, is a new face on Sindh’s political horizon.

He launched his political party — Tabdeeli Pasand Party (TPP) — only in April this year.

He is taking on political heavyweight of PPP, Sharjeel Inam Memon, on PS-63 (Tandojam) in a one-on-one electoral fight.

Memon is languishing in jail in a Rs5.8bn advertisement reference of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Kazi is backed by GDA while Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Sohail Jahejo has withdrawn in his favour on the seat.

GDA secretary general Ayaz Latif Palijo is to face Jam Khan Shoro of PPP on PS-62 Qasimabad but Dr Qadir Magsi is another stakeholder on this seat.

Magsi wants Palijo to leave this seat for him the way he did in the last polls.

The stage is set for an interesting electoral battle involving the Arbabs and the PPP.

For the first time the Arbabs are quarrelling among themselves electorally.

Former CM Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, GDA’s big gun, is contesting against his nephew, Arbab Lutfullah of PPP on PS-57.

Another hotly contested seat in the area is NA-221 where PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi would be facing PPP’s Noor Shah Jillani.

Qureshi — who derives his strength chiefly from his Ghausia Jamaat’s followers in the desert — had earlier lost this seat by 2,050 votes.

In the neighbouring coastal Badin district, GDA-backed Mirzas are up against PPP.

Hassam Mirza and Hasnain Mirza are fighting elections from Badin on national and provincial assembly seats besides their parents, Dr Zulfikar Mirza and Dr Fahmida Mirza.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2018