MQM-P reclaims lost stronghold of District Central as per unofficial results

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) reclaimed its lost ground of District Central that was snatched from it by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the 2018 elections, in which the former could win only one of the four NA constituencies of the district.

This time around, the party won all the National Assembly (NA) seats of the district. Despite lacking the election symbol bat, the independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) mostly outperformed the Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidates who had extensively campaigned.

The Jamaat-e-Islami had a clean sweep in the district in the last local government elections and was also a strong party in the district but stood third on the day of the general elections.

In NA-247 where there was an impressive turnout of 43.4 per cent of voters, the MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hasan garnered a total of 64,945 votes defeating PTI-backed independent candidate Syed Abbas Hussain, who received 52,005 votes. The JI’s Moazam Zafar Khan bagged 23,809 votes from the constituency.

In NA-248, there was the highest voter turnout of 44.3 per cent of the entire district. MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui bagged a total of 103,082 votes, defeating the PTI-backed Arsalan Khalid who received 86,342 votes. The JI’s Muhammad Babar Khan got 38,881 votes.

In NA-249, the voter turnout was 36.6 per cent. The MQM-P’s Muhammad Saleem won the constituency securing a total of 77,529 votes defeating the PTI-backed independent candidate Aziz Ali Khan who secured 51,152 votes. The JI’s Mian Muslim Perver received a total of 27,205 votes.

In NA-250, the voter turnout was 34.5 per cent. The MQM-P’s Farhan Chishti defeated Karachi JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman with a margin of 36,266 votes after securing a total of 79,925 votes. Rehman polled a total of 43,659 votes. The PTI-backed independent candidate Muhammad Riaz garnered 32,629 votes.