Electoral prospects in Larkana Division

 

LARKANA: This far northern division of Sindh, bordering with Balochistan, has seven NA seats and 17 PA seats. Due to the delimitation carried out on basis of the 2017 census, this division lost one NA and one PA seat from Kashmore and Shikarpur districts, respectively.

This division has some of the biggest political heavyweights including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Aftab Shaban Mirani and Mohammad Mian Soomro, the former Sindh governor and caretaker prime minister during Gen (retd) Musharraf’s tenure, who are ready to pounce on opponents in the elections. Earlier, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had contested from their ancestral seat from this division.

NA 196 Jacobabad: This constituency covers the entire district. Eleven candidates are in the run for this seat including former Sindh governor, chairman senate and caretaker prime minister and the scion of Soomro family, Mohammad Mian Soomro, who is contesting on the PTI ticket with the support of the GDA against PPP’s Aijaz Jakhrani. Jakhrani had contested and won against Elahi Bux Soomro, Mohammad Mian’s uncle, in 2002, 2008 and 2013. Some people expect a good fight in this constituency. However, minority vote appears to be the decisive factor.

NA 197 Kashmore: As many as 19 candidates are testing their luck on this NA seat but the actual contest is between PPP’s Ahsan Mazari and GDA’s Abdul Ghani Bijarani. Mazari is the clear favourite as his uncle has big support in Kashmore and one of the candidates on the provincial seat has already returned unopposed.

NA 198 Shikarpur I: PPP’s Abid Bhayo, Independent Abid Jatoi and MMA’s Abdullah Pahore are the main contenders among 13 contestants for this national assembly constituency. The GDA has not fielded any candidate, while its candidate on PA-7 is supporting Jatoi, which has created an interesting situation. On the one hand, this support has brought Jatoi to a fighting position but on the other hand, it has angered the GDA candidate on NA 199, who fears that this behind-the-scene pact may lead to defeat for his son, who is the candidate on PS-8.

NA 199 Shikarpur II: Ghaus Bux Mahar of GDA, Zulfiqar Kamario of PPP and Abdullah of MMA are among the 13 candidates for this seat. But the actual competition is between Ghaus Bux Mahar of GDA, who has won every election since 1997 and is a master tactician of electioneering in Shikarpur and PPP’s Kamario. MMA’s Abdullah can be a spoiler for Mahar because both hail from the same area and have the support of the same community. This seat may give surprising results on July 25, 2018.

NA 200 Larkana I: This is one of the most-watched constituencies of the country as the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in the race against 17 candidates, including Rashid Mehmood Soomro of MMA having support of GDA and PTI’s Amir Bux Bhutto. Despite a PTI candidate Halima Bhutto in the race from the same seat, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in the clear lead.

NA 201 Larkana II: Eight candidates are contesting on this seat but the contest to watch out for is between PPP’s Khursheed Junejo and GDA’s Allah Bux Unar. People of the area and odds are favouring the PPP candidate until some miracle happens and turns the tide in favour of the GDA candidate.

NA 202 Kamber ShahdadKot I: Ex-chief minister Sindh Aftab Shaban Mirani of PPP is facing 12 candidates including ex-MPA Sultan Khuhawar, Saifullah Abro, Muzaffar Brohi and Nazeer Magsi who are contesting as independents and MMA’s Nasir Mehmood. Aftab Shaban Mirani is in clear advantage.

NA 203 Kamber ShahdadKot II: Around 11 candidates are contesting from this constituency, including Mir Amir Magsi of PPP, Faiz Mohammad of GDA, Sakhawat Ali of PTI and Zulfiqar Ali of AWP. PPP’s Amir Magsi will have a walk over this constituency.

Originally published in The News