It took 50-year-old Mohammad Ali Kazi, a journalist-turned-politician, around eight years to do some spadework before launching a new political entity — Tabdeeli Passand Party (TPP) in Sindh. He had earlier decided to launch it in 2012, but then had second thoughts.

He hails from Hyderabad’s well-known Kazi family, which has been associated with Sindhi newspapers and the cinema business. His political debut came when he joined Allama Shah Ahmed Noorani’s Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan at the age of 18, but left it after a brief stay.

Dr Fahmida Mirza and her brother Kazi Asad Abid, former PPP MNA and owner of Sindhi newspaper Ibrat, are his paternal cousins. Ali Kazi is the son of Kazi Mohammad Akbar, the elder brother of Fahmida’s father, Kazi Abdul Majeed Abid, who had won 1985 party-less elections.

Both Kazi Akbar and Kazi Abdul Majeed had contested from Tando Jam where Mohammad Ali Kazi is contesting from this time around. “I don’t claim that this is my ancestral seat. My party advised me to contest from Thal in Jacobabad, Ghotki or Tando Jam in Hyderabad district. But considering logistics issues, I decided to file papers from PS-63,” says the soft-spoken politician. He is aware of electoral dynamics and the fact that electioneering requires a lot of logistics and teamwork. “I have a good team and it is indeed my first election, but I have seen many elections and it isnot something new for me,” he adds.

Ali Kazi is involved in the construction sector also. According to the statement of declaration of his assets, he has estimated his assets to be worth Rs263.323m as on June 30, 2017. His rival candidate from the Pakistan Peoples Party Sharjeel Memon’s assets are valued at Rs160m for the same period. Kazi’s assets have increased by Rs9.081m since 2016, when they were estimated at Rs254.242m. He has shares in Kawish and KTN productions worth Rs7,500,000 each. He apparently, however, does not own a vehicle.

Why did he stop short of launching his political party on Jan 22, 2012 in Bhitshah? “Since I was talking of electoral politics and it is numerical strength that matters in it. The turnout at the Jan 22 event was unimpressive, therefore I decided to do some more work. One doesn’t pursue politics for fun but to win,” he says with a laugh.

He eventually launched the TPP on April 8 this year, but before that he travelled through the length and breadth of Sindh, addressing 187 big and small public gatherings in 32 days. With close to three decades of experience of journalism to his credit, he has been thinking in terms of entering politics with a narrative of tabdeeli (change) for Sindh for a long time.

And ekta (unity) day, observed in Dec 2009on the call of the Sindhi media house he co-owns, provided him the initial impetus. He explains that they observed unity day after an anchorperson criticised Asif Ali Zardari for wearing a Sindhi cap while on a tour to Afghanistan.

Kazi took it as an insult to Sindhi culture as a whole. “By the way, it wasn’t anything about Asif Ali Zardari, but it was, in fact, about the mindset that tends to demean Sindhi people and their culture. And I questioned this mindset,” he argues.

On January 25, 2010, several people donning Sindhi caps and ajrak set aside their political affiliation and gathered across the province to observe Indus River Day again on his media house’s call, and express their appreciation for the river and reiterate their stance on the water distribution issue.

It is around this time that he began seriously considering launching a political party. The people’s response was encouraging. Till Jan 22, 2012 Marvi Memon (presently with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) was with him, but later decided to join the Sharifs.

“My narrative of ‘change’ is not inspired by any individual or party. I myself wroteon this narrative in 1994 or 1995 in my paper, says Kazi, who founded Sindh’s popular Sindhi-language newspaper Kawish in 1990 in Hyderabad and then first Sindhi language news channel Kawish Television Network (KTN).

His new party is participating in the elections for the first time, and Kazi, himself, is contesting against political heavyweight Sharjeel Inam Memon on PS-63 of Tando Jam, a rural constituency of Hyderabad district. Interned PPP leader Sharjeel Memon won the seat from here in 2013 elections after a tough contest by Khawand Bux Jahejo of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. “My constituency has over 60,000 potential voters between 18 and 35 years of age, out of 160,000 total votes,” he says.

He is not unaware of typical electoral dynamics. He says people have lost their emotional attachment to the Bhuttos and the PPP is no longer a Bhutto’s party. “The Bhutto factor is not relevant today. While Gen Zia eliminated Z.A. Bhutto physically, the present PPP leadership has done away with thosepolitical sentiments, thanks to its performance,” he says.

The TPP leader floated the Tabdeeli vs Bhotar narrative in April. ‘Bhotar’ is an individual who wields influence in Sindh’s urban, semi-urban and rural areas. That is why he decided to target the ‘bhotar’ mindset, he explains, with his “down with bhotar” slogan.

“I want to break the psychological misconception that ordinary people can’t win polls against bhotars and that there can be no electoral victory without electables,” he observed at a presser after the launch of his party in Hyderabad. “I grew up listening to the slogan of ‘jeay Bhutto’ but today, the youth between 18 and 29 years of age hear cries of ‘khaa gaey, khaa gaey’ in every nook and corner of the province,” he remarks.

While Benazir Bhutto led the PPP, he says, it was a masses party by all standards. “Every feudal or bhotar used to vote for her. But now things have drastically changed. Today, there is a desire for change...there is a cry for change. And I feel that the response from the people is tremendous, rather unbelievable,” he stresses.

The TPP wants accountability for all, every child in school, inexpensive medical treatment and quality medicines. It believes that access to safe drinking water is a basic right. It supports better infrastructure, industrial growth, employment, a people-friendly police and protection of minorities’ rights, etc. He has fielded 19 candidates against the PPP in Sindh. The PTI has withdrawn its candidate in favour of him on PS-63 while the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has not fielded its candidate against him under another adjustment.

The GDA, critics say, comprises many time-tested political ‘bhotars’ and Kazi has support for a one-on-one electoral duel with Memon under conventional electoral arrangements. “Not everything in conventional politics is wrong as long as you don’t compromise on people’s interests. I didn’t make adjustment through any pressure tactic. It is in people’s interests,” he says.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2018