It isn't cold alone that hit turnout.

KARACHI -- While the voter turnout remained low in almost every locality of the metropolis - as some say it was because of the boycott of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement factions while some saying it was the cold weather - it was more of an outing for those coming to vote in the local government polls.

Though most people knew the reason for the small voter turnout being due to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) pulling out of the competition at the last minute, there were also some confused elderly folks at the polling stations saying that they were going to vote only for the MQM. When informed about the latest, they just turned on their heel and left without casting their votes. Then the carts selling oranges and guavas outside almost every other polling station interested them far more than the election itself.

Even though most who voted claimed to be Pakistan Peoples Party or Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf supporters, thanks to various party alliances, too, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and his Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) had to be the biggest winner as far as the number of posters, banners and flags put up in the city went.

It was nice to see most of the voters coming with their children. 'They had questions about this election as they have been watching news on TV regarding it. So I thought it best to show them practically what it is all about,' a mother told Dawn.

No water, no electricity, no gas, broken roads, does anyone care for city, a voter asks

With an overall small turnout of voters in most areas, there were also a few areas worth noting for their unbelievably high turnout of voters such as Paharganj in district Central and Sultanabad in district Keamari.

Wherever there was an outpouring of voters, so big that they were falling over each other, the voters had to be Pakhtoon, though divided between their voting preferences of PPP, PTI and JI.

In areas like North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Federal B Area, Liaquatabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, etc, there was more rush on petrol pumps, halwa-puri shops and markets than polling stations.

During a visit to Paharganj, you ran into little boys campaigning in bright woollen green, red and black pakol caps and matching scarves that they had tied around their necks in the style of scouts at Paharganj. While they were obviously too young to vote, you also saw men wearing maroon pakol caps with 'ANP' inscribed on the front with matching mufflers. The alliance was going to get PPP all their votes.

UC-20 Councillor Dil...