KARACHI, Sept 20: Thirty per cent of the voters in National Assembly constituency 251 are from the upper-middle class, including government functionaries, and the rest 70 per cent from the lower-middle class. NA-251 covers posh areas of Karachi Administrative Housing Society (KAHS) and PECHS, besides other areas.

Comprising eight out of 13 union councils of Jamshed Town, the constituency covers parts of old South and East districts’ areas which include localities behind Jacob Lines, PECHS, Jut Lines, Abyssinia Lines, Chanesar Goth, Mehmoodabad, Liaquat Ashraf Colony, Kashmir Colony, Manzoor Colony, Akhtar Colony, Junejo Town and Defence Bungalows.

A visit to the constituency showed that electioneering here too was in low key as in the rest of the city. Even in the densely-populated Lines Area, where followers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement do not see eye to eye, the political atmosphere was found to be without any excitement as there were very few flags, banners, wall-chalking and display of election symbols at prominent places as used to be the practice in previous elections. There were banners of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Muslim Leagues (N) and (Q), Muttahida, and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf. Corner meetings held so far by candidates have failed to evoke interest among the voters.

Like other parts of he city, the most visible banners carry kite and book followed by lion and candle.

The state of civic amenities in Lines Area is deplorable. The locality faces severe water shortage, garbage is littered all over the place, and traffic plies in an unruly manner, exposing people to accidents.

There are 22 candidates in the field. The main contest is likely to be between the candidates of the PML (N) and the Muttahida. In the past the latter contested elections as the Haq Parast Group (HPG).

The total population of the constituency is 481,896. The number of voters is 210,491: 119,865 male and 90,626 female.

Results of the previous four general elections held between 1988-97 show that the constituency had not been dominated by any one party as in the two elections held in 1988 and 1990 the constituency was represented by HPG candidate Syed Tariq Mehmood. The HPG boycotted the 1993 elections, and Capt Haleem Ahmad Siddiqui (retd) of the PML (N) won this NA seat. He again won the seat in the 1997 elections by defeating the HPG candidate by a margin of more than 6,400 votes.

According to Election Commission reports, in the 1997 elections there were 16 candidates in the field. Capt Haleem Siddiqui of the PML (N) was declared elected who secured 31,414 votes out of a total number of registered 219,609 votes. Only 65,916 voters exercised their right of franchise showing a turnout of 30 per cent only. 619 votes were rejected. In that election Mohammed Abdul Jalil bagged 25,008 votes, Umer Farooq Khan of the PPP 4,005 votes and Nazim Haji of the Pakistan Tehrik-I- Insaf 2,821 votes.

In the 1993 elections, boycotted by the HPG, Capt Haleem Siddiqui of the PML (N) was declared elected among 17 candidates by securing 33,840 votes. Mian Akhtar Paganwala of the PPP bagged 1,024 votes and Qazi Husain Ahmed of the PIF 8,452 votes.

In the 1993 polls, out of 21,9181 registered voters 54,732 voters caste their votes. 637 votes were rejected. Voter turnout was recorded at 24.97 per cent.

In the 1990 and 1988 polls, there were 198,863 and 182,702 registered voters and 17 and 12 candidates, respectively. Out of the 81,639 and 87,338 votes cast, 724 and 1620 were rejected. Voter turnout was 41.05 and 47.80 per cent, respectively.

In these two elections, Syed Tariq Mehmood of the HPG was declared elected by securing 40,573 and 36,746 votes, respectively. Abdul Sattar Afghani of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and Ghulam Sarwar Malik of the Punjabi Pakhtun Ittehad bagged 20,019 and 28,145 votes, respectively.

If one goes by the results of the above-mentioned four general elections, the main contest this time is likely to be between the Muttahida candidate, Syed Safwanullah, and the PML (N) candidate, Mushahidullah Khan.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, an alliance of six religious parties, has also fielded its candidate, Abdul Ghaffar Umer Kabedia, from NA-251.

Other candidates in the field who could affect the outcome of the election and are in the reckoning are Qaiser Khan Nizamani of the Pakistan People’s Party (Parliamentarians), Mohammed Ashraf Memon of the PTI and Mehboob Ali Rajput of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement.

The NA-251 comprises Sindh Assembly constituencies PS-114 and PS-115 with populations of 270,191 and 239,731, respectively.

PS-114 covers the localities of KAHCS, Mehmoodabad, Liaquat Ashraf Colony, Akhtar Colony and Manzoor Colony. There are 57,941 male and 40,839 female voters in this provincial assembly constituency.

PS-115 comprises areas behind Jacob Lines, Abyssinia Lines, PECHS Blocks 6, and 12, Central Jacob Lines, Jut Lines, Chanesar Goth and Masoom Colony. There are 61,924 male and 49787 female voters.

In PS-114, formerly PS-89, there are 19 candidates in the field. Here a triangular fight is likely between Sardar Abdul Rahim of the PML (N), Afsar Saghir of the Muttahida and Zahoor-ul-Haque Jadoon of the MMA. Irfanullah Marwat of the SDA could also affect the result.

In the elections held in 1997, this constituency was represented by Saleem Zia of the PML (N) who won the seat among 10 candidates by bagging 13,636 votes. Capt Syed Mohammed Ali of the HPG was left behind by less than 4,000 votes as he secured 9,782 votes. Dr Arif Alvi of the PTI got 2,200 votes, and Malik Ansar Ahmed of the PPP secured 1,849 votes.

In the 1993 elections, this seat was won by Capt Syed Mohammed Ali of the HPG among 25 candidates by securing 18,931 votes. In the 1990 elections this seat was bagged by the HPG as Mohammed Afzal Munif won the seat among 15 candidates by securing 15,538 votes out of the 34,295 votes polled.

Out of 19 aspirants the 1988 elections returned an independent candidate, Shaikh Ismail Azam, who was polled 14,3 92 out of 38,430 votes polled. The total number of registered voters was then 87,991.

In PS-115, formerly PS-90, Sardar Abdul Rahim of the PML(N) was declared elected in the 1997 elections among 16 candidates by securing 15,240 votes out of 31,989 votes polled. The total number of registered voters then was 106,212. The percentage of votes cast was 30.12pc. His nearest rival was Rana Safdar Ali Khan of the HPG.

In the 1993 elections this constituency was represented by Rana Safdar Ali of the HPG who bagged 23,879 of the 35,571 votes polled, showing 36.93 per cent polling. The number of registered voters then was 96,312. Rana Safdar’s nearest rival was Usman Khan of the PPP who bagged 8,887 votes among 15 candidates.

For the Oct 10 elections in PS-115 there are 20 candidates in the field. The main contest is likely to be between Mohammed Abdul Rauf Siddiqui of the Muttahida and Basharat Mirza of the PDP.