LARKANA: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will not be given a walkover in electing the mayor of Larkana.

This was stated by Larkana Awami Ittehad (LAI) convener Haji Munawwar Ali Abbasi while talking to journalists at Kot Waleed on Monday.

No matter how many seats the LAI had bagged, but the result depended upon circumstances at the time of election for the slot, he said.

In reply to a question, the former PPP MPA said this time anti-PPP votes had increased in number as compared to the previous elections.

The total of anti-PPP votes was much higher than those polled for the PPP, which spoke volumes about the situation which might have compelled the leaders of what he called the Zardari-led PPP to rethink their policies.

Corruption and bad governance had eroded the PPP’s popularity even in its home ground, he said. The PPP had lost four out of five seats in Dokri and three of the four in Mirokhan in the recent elections. Moaazim Abbasi of the PPP-Workers was present during the media talk.

Asked if the PPP-Workers preferred to have a solo flight or it would think over striking an alliance with any like-minded party or group, he said the party might form an alliance. “We are in touch with Dr Zulfikar Mirza who swept polls in Badin and we may discuss the issues with him,” Munawwar Abbasi said.

He said the PPP-Workers had a national stature and only such a political party could serve the nation and survive.

He said “ ... we have snatched five seats from the PPP in the local government elections in Larkana’ where the PPP had entirely relied on police and bureaucrats to influence the process through harassment, registering fake cases and gerrymandering.

Answering another question, he said the LAI was contemplating going for recounting of votes in union committee-1 and 7 in Larkana city where, according to him, at one polling station 800 votes had been rejected and the LAI faced a marginal defeat with not more than 200 and less than 70 votes.

Commenting on LAI’s stand on paddy’s procurement price, he said the alliance still demanded the government fix the buying rates of paddy or offer subsidy on procurement as had been practised in other countries to save growers and peasants from colossal financial losses.

Criticising the Sindh government’s non-serious attitude towards growers in difficult times, he predicted the worst days ahead for wheat growers.

The government was taking the issue lightly, he said and called for constructing huge go-downs to stock rice and wheat to be used in food crisis.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015