KARACHI: Political climate of Karachi, which had become cold due to split within major political party of the city – The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – has soared up after chiefs of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chose this important metropolis as battleground for contesting 2018 general elections.

Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) has fixed July 25, 2018, as the date for general elections on the national and provincial assemblies in the country. According to ECP, the aspirant candidates can submit their nomination papers till June 11, 2018.

A day earlier, Bilawal submitted his nomination papers to contest elections from two National Assembly seats – NA-246 of Karachi’s Lyari area and NA-200 of Larkana – which his party has been wining since 1970s.

PTI Chief Imran Khan submitted his nomination form for NA-243 of the city.

Zia Ur Rehman, a Karachi-based political commentator, says Karachi is very a important city for major political parties which is why heads of major political parties have been contesting polls from the metropolis.

“First, Karachi is electorally highly symbolic at national level. Second, Participation of Bilawal and Imran will boost the electoral campaigns of their parties’ candidates contesting from various parts of the city,” Rehman opines.

Experts believe that PPP has played safe by fielding its chief on a seat which the party has been wining since its inception whereas PTI has taken a risk to choose NA-243 where the party could only emerge as a runner-up and that too when its popularity was at the peak in 2013.

“Lyari is a safe constituency for PPP as the party has been winning this seat for the past several decades by drawing support from its Baloch and Katchi ethnic electorate and this is the reason why the PPP has chosen Lyari for its young chairperson.”

PTI has chosen Gulshan-e-Iqbal, a constituency that houses upper-middle and middle-class population of the city. Khan’s participation from the area will help the party's other candidates to muster votes from Mohajir and upper-middle class neighborhoods of the city.

According to the new delimitation, NA-243 now comprises areas of former NA-251 and NA-252, which as per the results on ECP’s official website, were among the city’s seats where PTI had not only secured second position but Imran Khan’s party had also got good number of votes, upsetting the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain.

Faisal Subzwari, former provincial minister and senior MQM leader sees PTI’s decision to pitch Khan from a known MQM stronghold as an unwise move.

“No doubt PTI had been runner up from these constituencies in 2013 but it was a wave in favor of PTI, which it has badly failed to retain,” the MQM-P leader says, adding despite split within the MQM-Pakistan, his party is in strong position to win the said seat.

Head of the PTI’s central media cell, Iftikhar Durrani, admits that the split within MQM shaped PTI’s decision to choose this constituency. “However, that’s not the only reason. Our election management cell has worked it out scientifically. We have conducted several surveys after which we took this decision. We are sure that Imran Khan will win with huge margin.”

Durrani says Khan will not only win this seat but it will give boast to party’s election campaign in Karachi over a large number of seats.

On Bilawal’s choice of constituency, MQM-P’s Subzwari says PPP has played safe by fielding Bilawal from Lyari but it will be really hard for it to retain the previous margin as the party has lost turf over the last several years. “In past local gangers would muster support for the party. Gangs have been eliminated,” he says.

President PPP Karachi division and former minister, Saeed Ghani, says it was his party’s decision to field Bilawal as a candidate from Lyari. “This seat belongs to Bhuttos and the people have never reposed their trust in anyone else. Bilawal will not only retain the previous winning margins but he will win with biggest margins.”

With both PPP and PTI dreaming great results for their leaders, the political climate of Karachi rises for the big day.