KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday achieved a sweeping victory in the by-polls held for NA-245 and PS-115, according to unofficial results reported by DawnNews.

MQM's candidate, Kamal Malick, managed to secure more than 39,000 votes, while PPP's Shahid Hussain managed to secure around 3,000 votes for the NA-245 seat.

A large number of MQM supporters and activists were seen celebrating the victory in the constituency.

Earlier, hours before the by-polls were scheduled to start, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate's made a dramatic exit.

The polls were expected to be a contest mainly between the MQM and the PTI. In a serious blow to PTI, however, its candidate for NA-245 Amjadullah Khan announced his decision to withdraw in favour of the MQM candidate, citing neglect for his campaign on part of the PTI.

Turnout remained low in the early hours of polling.—DawnNews

Flanked by MQM leaders Amir Khan and Kanwar Naveed, Amjadullah Khan announced his decision to withdraw in favour of MQM's Kamal Malick at an early Thursday press conference, held at the Khursheed Memorial Hall at MQM's Nine Zero headquarters.

The PTI candidate accused his party of neglecting him and alleged that PTI chief Imran Khan did not even make a telephone call to him during his campaign for the constituency. He added that the PS-115 provincial constituency, where by-polls are taking place today as well, was the sole focus of PTI.

“When Ali Zaidi called a party meeting before the NA-245 by-polls in Karachi, there should have been thousands of workers there but only about 150 people attended.”

He claimed that PTI refused to provide him any funding for his election campaign or other such cooperation.

"PTI workers and activists asked me for money before elections after Ali Zaidi left the meeting. Is this your PTI?"

Amjadullah, who was going to make his electoral debut in NA-245, said he was a total misfit in the PTI and that individuals like him "cannot sustain in the party". He said there was no such thing as management in PTI.

"Imran Khan is a good person but is unable to run a party," he went on to say. Khan does not know how to play a politician so he should engage himself in welfare work only, he remarked.

He further said that the MQM already had a soft image among the masses, "which has become clearer in the current scenario".

The national and provincial seats had fallen vacant after MQM MNA Rehan Hashmi resigned from NA-245 and MPA Dr Arshad Vohra from PS-115 when the party assigned them key positions in the upcoming local government system after the Dec 5 polls.

83 polling stations have been set up in PS-115.—DawnNews

The North Nazimabad and North Karachi constituency of NA-245 has long been a stronghold of the MQM where its candidate Hashmi bagged 115,776 votes to emerge victorious in the 2013 general elections when the percentage of votes polled stood at 54.28.

Similarly, Dr Vohra won the PS-115 seat, which consists of Lines Area localities, in the 2013 general elections with 55,804 votes when the percentage of votes polled stood at 53.30.

On the seats, PTI candidates emerged as runners-up with 54,937 and 18,622 votes, respectively. The PTI insisted that the 2013 elections were not fair and for Thursday’s by-polls the party looked hopeful that the results would be in its favour; so did its rival MQM.

With PTI candidate's departure, there are 15 candidates vying for the NA seat, although the main contest is now likely between the MQM, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal, which have fielded Kamal Malick, Shahid Hussain and Abdul Rasheed, respectively.

For the Sindh Assembly seat, of the 14 candidates the actual contest would be between Faisal Rafiq of the MQM, Amjad Asif of the PTI, Saeed Chowla of the PPP and Ehsanullah Hazarvi of the JUI-F.

The Mohajir Qaumi Movement, better known as Haqiqi, has also fielded its candidate, Jameel Qadri, for PS-115 after maintaining a low profile for the past several months, Dawn newspaper reported.

Rangers has been deployed inside and outside polling stations.—DawnNews

In the NA constituency there are over 409,600 voters where 227 polling stations have been set up while in the PS-115 constituency there are over 162,000 voters where 83 polling stations have been set up. In the NA constituency there are 33 highly sensitive, 124 sensitive and 70 normal polling stations while in PS-115 there are 66 most sensitive while 14 sensitive and only three normal polling stations.

For security and secrecy of the ballot, Rangers has been deployed inside and outside the polling stations and police is to ensure discipline around the polling stations.

'Amjadullah took this step for family's protection'

PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haq while talking to DawnNews on Thursday said that Amjadullah Khan posted a tweet saying "he took this step for the protection of his family".

Haq said he was not aware of Amjadullah's reservations with the party but that he has been missing since last night.

MQM after first attacking Amjadullah's camp pressurised him to join the party "as a defence against Mustafa Kamal's politics against MQM", the PTI spokesperson said.

He said the right move would have been to postpone the by-election to allow PTI to field another candidate.

Responding these claims, Amjadullah said, "I am joining the MQM of my own accord and there has been no pressure on me. I have struck no deal with the MQM or any other party and all decisions are mine."

"I joined the PTI because I was impressed by Imran Khan and his personality but was disappointed by the party leadership during local government polls."

PTI press conference called off

Following Amjadullah's dramatic press conference, PTI also called an emergency press conference at the Insaf House, however the conference was later cancelled at eleventh hour, with no clear reasons given for the cancellation.

PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman asked media to leave the venue after a scuffle reportedly took place among PTI workers present at the Insaf House, DawnNews reported.