A LOCAL alliance that is against the Makhdoom-PPP-Parliamen­tarians’ grouping is again trying its luck at downing the latter on July 25 in Matiari. This time it is under the umbrella of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). During the last general elections the alliance luminaries — some are with the PPP now — had joined the PML-Functional to make things difficult for the Makhdooms, in a first for Matiari.

In the previous elections, the alliance had emerged as a formidable group, prompting Makhdoom Amin Fahim to not take things lying down and run a serious election campaign across the district, even though he himself faced a lesser-known political opponent in Abdul Razaq Memon. The Makhdooms eventually won all three seats, though their rivals made their electoral presence felt and haven’t given up this time either.

Taking the cue from the last polls, PPP leader Asif Zardari — who, according to some reports, has been uncomfortable with the Makhdooms ever since he acquired the reins of the PPP — decided to reshape Matiari’s political chessboard. Zardari managed to get the PML-F’s Mohammad Ali Shah Jamote, a leading light of the 2013 alliance, on his side and got him elected as senator. Jamote became a major beneficiary in the backdrop of the alliance’s performance against the PPP.

Mohammad Ali Jamote, together with Ali Ahmed Nizamani (a family friend of the late Amin Fahim) in Hala, Nazir Rahu (Zardari’s friend from Saeedabad) and the Memons — Razaq Memon and Naseer Memon — laid the foundations of that alliance in the wake of their differences with the Makhdooms who have electorally been ruling Matiari since 1988.

Razaq Memon got 72,000 votes against Amin Fahim, who won Matiari’s National Assembly seat with 95,000 votes. But Memon challenged the result before the election tribunal that finally ruled in favour of Fahim.

Jamote himself lost Matiari’s taluka provincial assembly seat by 4,000 votes to Dr Makhdoom Rafik Zaman, while Nazir Rahu lost to Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman.

Post-2013 polls, Matiari’s alliance, which had started with a bang, ended with a whimper. “Petty issues involving Razaq Memon and Mohammad Ali Jamote caused the demise of the alliance and that’s why we didn’t perform in the local bodies elections,” says Nizamani.

Nazir Rahu says he had spent his entire life in the PPP and had led the alliance effectively. “But then the late Makhdoom made overtures to me and that’s how the rapprochement came about between me and them,” he says.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited the ailing Makhdoom Amin Fahim, then president of the PPPP, in November 2015. He attended his funeral and soyem in Hala. The Makhdooms have, however, been expressing their grievances on and off, both privately and in press statements.

Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman, who now heads the Sarwari Jamaat, has been complaining that the PPP’s MPAs/MNAs neglect Sarwari Jamaat followers after being elected with their votes in every elections in various districts.

This time Jamiluzzaman made two former Sindh chief ministers — Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Syed Murad Ali Shah — visit his Hala residence frequently. “He initially cold-shouldered the two former CMs and told them he hasn’t yet received message from the party leadership to lend support to PPP candidates in different districts,” says a local observer. It was only in the last closed-door meeting that he reportedly gave them a positive response.

Until the Makhdooms got PPP tickets, there were rumours that they might review their options of staying with the PPP or otherwise. Makhdoom Jamil also wanted the PPP to consider nominees proposed by him as the party’s candidates in different districts, but the party leadership didn’t give any weight to this. The Makhdoom family, however, got tickets for all three seats of Matiari for July 25.

“There are no issues at all. Some devotees of Makhdoom sahib decided to contest the polls as independents in some districts. They have now retired in Khairpur, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar and Umerkot. Only Nabi Khoso is adamant about contesting against the PPP’s Siraj Soomro on the Nagarparkar seat as he has personal issues,” says Aslam Pirzada, Makhdoom Jamil’s coordinator. He confirms that Makhdoom Jamil had a positive meeting with Zardari in Karachi recently.

Makhdoom Jamil is contesting on the National Assembly seat (won by his late father in the last polls) against the GDA’s Makhdoom Fazal Hussain, his son Makhdoom Mahboob Zaman on Hala’s provincial seat against Naseer Memon, and Makhdoom Jamil’s uncle Dr Makhdoom Rafik Zaman on Matiari’s provincial seat against Jalal Shah Jamote.

The GDA’s Memon is the younger brother of Bashir Memon, the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency. Jalal Shah Jamote had defeated Makhdoom Fazal Hussain in the 2002 polls when the latter got PPP’s ticket. Jamote largely owed his success to Makhdoom Rafik’s clandestine support.

The Makhdooms look confident about winning all seats, yet their supporters don’t rule out close fights. “Jalal Shah is working hard to make the July 25 contest with Rafik evenly poised,” says a local resident.

It looks as if the departure of Mohammad Ali Jamote, Nazir Rahu and Ali Ahmed Nizamani from the GDA has taken the steam out of it. Mohammad Ali Jamote tells Dawn that he is actively working for Rafik Zaman. Yet the Memons, Jalal Shah and Razaq Memon have found new allies.

Jalal Shah has also got the support of the PTI. He also claims the support of Mohammad Ali Jamote’s uncle. The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal candidate, Farhat Yasmin, has retired in favour of Makhdoom Fazal.

“While Nizamani and Rahu are indeed not with us, they aren’t working wholeheartedly for PPP candidates either,” comments a leader of the alliance. “They are not performing with same zeal for the PPP as they did with us.”

Alluding to GDA’s Naseer Memon, Makhdoom Jamil believes the FIA DG could influence election in Matiari and the ECP should take note of it. Memon dismisses his claim, saying “Did my brother come to rescue me when I faced a fake murder case in 2013 polls? Also does the law bar a government officer’s brother from contesting polls?”.

Local observers say that the Jalal-Rafik fight is likely to be tough as compared to the Naseer-Mahboob contest. Jalal Shah Jamote is trying to garner support of the Sadaat (different Syed families) of Matiari as much as possible. Jalal, according to one claim, is silently being backed by even those Syeds who are currently with the PPP.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2018