The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has vehemently denied recent news reports suggesting an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the NA-242 constituency in the Keamari district.
According to a spokesperson, the party has categorically refuted any plans for seat adjustment with the Shehbaz Sharif-led PML-N, dismissing the reports as unfounded. The MQM-P spokesperson emphasized that Mustafa Kamal, the Senior Deputy Convenor of MQM-P, is the party’s designated candidate for the NA-242 seat.
The upcoming 2024 general elections in the Baldia Town constituency in Karachi are anticipated to be a closely watched contest, featuring prominent candidates such as former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He is expected to run for election in the NA-242 constituency while also fielding himself in a Lahore constituency. The competition will pit Shehbaz against the former Karachi mayor and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Qadir Khan Mandokhail, who was the previous lawmaker for the old NA-249 constituency.
The report highlights that in the 2018 general elections, Shehbaz Sharif faced a tough challenge from the then-Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) candidate Faisal Vawda, with Vawda ultimately winning by a slim margin. The NA-249 seat shifted to the PPP in 2021 after the resignation of the ex-PTI politician upon his Senate election. PPP’s Mandokhail emerged victorious, defeating the joint candidate of PML-N and Pakistan Democratic Movement, Miftah Ismail, who had briefly served as the finance minister in the Shehbaz-led government the previous year.
The article also notes that Mustafa Kamal, who previously led the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), contested in the by-poll in 2018. Kamal, now aligned with MQM-P following the merger of PSP, is slated to be the MQM-P’s candidate in the upcoming elections.
