You have got to hand it to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). When it seems to have taken enough hard knocks to keep it down for the long haul, it comes back with guns blazing. The fiercely contested NA-246 constituency was won by none other than the MQM candidate Kanwar Naveed in the by-elections to determine who would ‘take the throne’ when former MQM member Nabeel Gabol resigned from the National Assembly, thus vacating this seat. This was a hotly contested by-election with the main competition coming from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). However, the way the MQM defeated its main competitor leaves much to be surprised about as all bets were on that the PTI would at least give the MQM a run for its money. However, with the MQM candidate bagging more than 90,000 votes and the PTI candidate, Imran Ismail, taking a fraction of that amount at a little over 22,000, the PTI had no way of making any decisive inroads in NA-246. The party to come in third was the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) with just 8,000 votes. By their very nature by-elections have their own peculiarities. The voter turnout is never really massive but for the NA-246 by-election this time, the turnout was surprisingly high with men, women and the elderly all coming out of their homes to elect into power, once again, a member of the MQM. That this constituency, Azizabad, is a MQM stronghold is well known (after all, the MQM headquarters, Nine Zero, is located there) but the sheer scale of the victory is awe-inspiring. It is heartening to see that the democratic process, no matter how imperfect, is still in play in Pakistan. Karachi, our port city and commercial hub, is typically wracked with violence. In such trying conditions, a high voter turnout is a positive sign. On top of this, for a defeated candidate to accept the results graciously and without causing a ruckus is also an example of political maturity finally manifesting itself in small doses in our politicos. However, that is where the congeniality ends and some harsh realities settle in. Workers belonging to the PTI and MQM confronted each other in less than demure fashion when they clashed on the eve of voting day. MQM workers attacked the party offices of the PTI soon after the results were announced, tearing down flexes and flags. What kind of victory celebration is this? It is extremely unbecoming of a winning party — any party — to display behaviour that is unruly and reflects badly on the party itself. However, when it comes to the MQM such tactics and demonstrations are not anything new. It has a reputation for high-handed tactics and muscle flexing. It also has a history of extortion and dubious practices. What this win should have elicited was exemplary behaviour by the workers of the MQM, those loyalists who have been known for their propensity to take the city hostage whenever the party has been part of controversy or scandal. The fact is that where tolerance and good civic behaviour should have been witnessed by party workers, we found the same confrontational attitudes. In this respect, the PTI showed restraint and grace. While the MQM has once again solidified its position as a party brought in by the demand of the electorate, it is time it shift its focus from unruly tactics to actually justifying its regaining of power in its stronghold. There are only a limited number of times a party will get such second chances. *