As the race for the coveted position of mayor in the southern port city of Pakistan gets under way, a Pakistani religious party that won second place in the recent local government elections in Karachi is being courted by other political groups.

Both Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Sindh’s ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which won from 93 and 86 administrative units, dominated the local elections held last Sunday to elect union council members.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former prime minister Imran Khan won 40 seats, while other political parties won 16. In 11 seats, polling was postponed due to the deaths of several candidates.

The indirect election for the position is anticipated to become more complicated due to the fact that no party was able to garner sufficient votes to elect its own mayor.

Firdous Shamim Naqvi, a prominent PTI leader in Sindh, stated on Tuesday, “We can’t make an alliance with the PPP.” He added, “Nothing is possible in politics.” For the mayor’s election, it is possible to form an alliance with the JI.

Naqvi claimed that the PPP had “deprived” his party of its mandate by repeatedly delaying the electoral contest, causing confusion regarding its timing.

He continued, “The PPP also robbed us of our mandate through unjust constituency delimitation.”

Saeed Ghani, a senior leader of Sindh’s ruling party, said at a news conference that every political faction had the right to choose its candidate for Karachi’s mayor, and that the JI could do it if they wanted to.

He stated, “The PPP and the JI should accept everyone’s mandate in the city’s interest.” We are prepared to discuss options and get out.

Ghani continued, “The PTI is not worthy of being contacted.”

Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, stated that the provincial government was willing to collaborate with the JI, but that his party should be given the mayor’s position.

He went on to say, “The Pakistan Peoples Party has the right to get the mayor’s seat because it has won the majority of the union councils.”

Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, the head of the JI, told Arab News that his party would think about joining an alliance if the PPP gave it back the seats that should have gone to his faction.

He stated, “Our doors are open to everyone, but our primary aim is to get the mandate back,” noting that his party now holds 89 seats.