Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan's (MQM-P) Bahadurabad faction on Sunday termed the PIB-camp led intra-party polls illegal.
A statement issued by the Bahadurabad faction alleged that the party polls — announced by Dr Farooq Sattar — were a 'condemnable effort to divide loyal party workers.'
"The Rabita Committee, alone, can make policy decisions," the statement said.
The Bahadurabad-faction, that comprises of senior party leaders including Amir Khan, Nasreen Jalil and Farogh Naseem, stated that none of the party members were allowed to single-handedly make decisions pertaining to party matters following August 23, 2016 — when Sattar took over the party's command following an incendiary speech by the party's founder.
The polling for MQM-P's intra-party elections to elect the Rabita Committee and Central Executive Council (CEC) ended at 7pm, after which the counting of votes is underway at the KMC ground in Karachi.
Of the 45 members contesting the election, 25 will form the new Rabita Committee, while 25 out of the 51 contesting members will form the CEC.
The ballot paper also lists Kamran Tessori's name at number 4 after the name of Dr Farooq Sattar at the top of the list.
Meanwhile, MNA Syed Ali Raza Abidi in a tweet announced that Dr Sattar will go to the party's Bahadurabad office in a bid to bridge differences with the rival faction of the party.
Speaking to workers at KMC Ground, former MQM-P convener Farooq Sattar said it was a referendum today and not an election. "A decision has been made that Rabita Committee and [party] constitution exist as long as there are workers too, and if there is no worker, then there's no Rabita Committee."
Sattar said that Sunday's referendum puts an end to feudal, authoritarian mindset in the party.
Khawaja Naveed, presiding over the elections as the chief election commissioner, told the journalists that rumours of a delay in the elections were spread to mislead the party workers.
The infighting between MQM-P's two factions — Sattar-led PIB and Rabita Committee-led Bahadurabad — started over the issue of distribution of party tickets for next month's Senate elections. The latter had strongly opposed Sattar's nomination of the relative newcomer Kamran Tessori over seasoned party leaders.
Sattar, on February 11, had announced the decision to dissolve the party's Rabita Committee during a general workers' meeting, hours after members of the coordination committee at the party's Bahadurabad office said he was no longer the convener of the party.
The latest efforts of MQM-P'S leaders Sardar Ahmed and Khawaja Izharul Hassan to reconcile differences with Dr Farooq Sattar remained futile.
Sattar stood by his group's decision to hold intra-party elections today (Sunday).
"I'm not from UP, I'm a Gujrat-born," he said. "I don't want to become Altaf Hussain but also want to turn into Mamnoon Hussain."
MQM-P's deposed convener, on Thursday, had denied reports of meeting Sindh Minister for Local Government Jam Khan Shoro and asking him for a list of MQM-P workers serving on government posts.
He insisted that party activists serving in government departments are being misled and called on the "owners and editor" of a private news channel to demand resignation from the reporter behind the story.
Commenting on allegations by the Bahadurabad faction of the party, Sattar had said he had clearly instructed his affiliates to abstain from issuing unnecessary statements.
