Role of 4 Major and 7 Minor Cast's in Sindh Politics.

The system of caste and tribes has always played a crucial role in deciding the political fate of Sind. Sind has as many as 4 major cast's i.e; Baloch, Syed, Sammat, Shaikh and 7 minor cast's i.e; Pathan, Rajput, Jatt, Arain, Memon, Mughal, Kashmiri, that decide the political fate of any candidate contesting the election. 

The tradition of voting for the candidate of one's own cast dates back to old times and has remained unchanged even in the general elections of February 18, 2008. 

A total of 60 candidates has successfully reached the National Assembly in 2008.

There are total 61 National Assembly seats in the province of Sindh and on one seat NA 207, the elections were postponed due to Benazir Bhutto's assassination. The PPP has managed to secure 30 seats, 19 seats by the MQM, PML-Q has won 5 seats, 3 seats by the PML-F, 2 seats by the NPP, and 1 seat by an independent candidate.

60 MNAs belong to different cast's, 16 of Baloch, 16 of Syed, 9 of Sammat, 6 of Shaikh, 2 of Pathan, 2 of Rajput, 2 of Mughal, 2 of Memon, 1 of Kashmiri, 1 of Jatt, 1 of Arain.

PPPP: Out of its 30 MNAs 13 belong to Baloch, 8 of Syed, 5 of Sammat, 1 of each Mughal, Shaikh, Jatt and Arain respectively.

13 Baloch MNAs of PPP.

1. Azra Afzal Pecheho Zardari (Nawabshah), 2.Mir Munawar Ali Talpur (Mirpurkhas)

3. Nawab Yousaf Talpur (Umerkot),

4. Nawab Ghani Talpur (Jamshoro),

5. Nazir Ahmad (Larkana),

6. Mir Amir Ali (Kamber Shahdadkot),

7. Eijaz Jakhrani (Jacobabad),

8. Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani (Jacobabad),

9. Shamshad Sattar (Tando Allahyar),

10. Rafique Ahmad Jamali (Dadu),

11. Nabeel Ahmad Gabol (Karachi),

12. Ghulam Ali Nizamani (Badin),

13. Sher Muhammad Baloch (Karachi);

8 Syed MNAs of PPP.

1. Syed Khurshid Shah (Sukkur),

2. Zafar Ali Shah (Naushero Feroze),

3. Syed Mustafa (Nawabshah),

4. Syed Fazal Ali Shah (Khairpur),

5. Mukhdoom Amin Faheem (Matiari),

6. Syed Ameer Shah (Hyderabad),

7. Naveed Qamar (Tando Muhammad),

8. Pir Aftab Shah (Mirpur Khas).

5 Sammat MNAs of PPP.

1. Mian Mitho (Ghotki),

2. Talat Iqbal (Dadu),

3. Sarfraz Rajpar (Sanghar)

4. Roshan Din (Sanghar),

5. Abdul Qadir (Karachi).

1 Jatt

Dr. Abdul Wahid (Thatta)

1 of Arain

1. Shahid Hussain Bhutto (Larkana)

1 of Mughal

1. Dr. Fahmida Mirza (Badin)

1 of Shaikh

1. Numan Islam Shaikh (Sukkur)

MQM: Out of its 19 MNAs, 6 belong to Syed, 5 of Shaikh, 2 of Pathan, 2 of Rajput, 2 of Memon, 1 of Mughal, and 1 of Kashmiri.

6 of Syed

1. Syed Tayyab Hussain (Hyderabad)

2. SA Iqbal Qadri (Karachi)

3. Abdul Waseem (Karachi)

4. Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi (Karachi)

5. Syed Asif Hussain (Karachi)

6. Sajid Ahmad (Karachi)

5 of Shaikh

1. Salahuddin (Hyderabad),

2. Shaikh Salahuddin (Karachi)

3. Sufyan Yousaf (Karachi)

4. Dr. Nadeem Ehsan (Karachi)

5. Dr. Muhammad Ayoub Shaikh (Karachi)

2 of Rajput

1. Dr. Abdul Qadir Khanzada (Karachi)

2. Waseem Akhter (Karachi)

2 of Memon

1. Abdul Rashid Godil (Karachi)

2. Dr. Farooq Sattar (Karachi)

2 of Pathan

1. Farhat Muhammad Khan (Karachi)

2. Iqbal Muhammad Ali (Karachi)

1 of Mughal

1. Khush Bakhat Shujat (Karachi)

1 of Kashmiri

1. Khawaja Sohail Mansoor (Karachi).

PML-Q: Out of its 5 MNAs 3 belong to Sammat, 1 of Syed, and 1 of Baloch.

3 of Sammat

1. Ghous Bakhsh Maher (Shikarpur)

2. Arbab Zakaullah (Tharparker)

3. Dr Ghulam Haider (Tharparker)

1 of Syed

1. Syed Ayaz Ali (Thatta);

1 of Baloch

1. Nasrullah Bijrani (Kashmore).

PML-F: Out of its 3 seats, 2 are Sammat and 1 is Syed

2 of Sammat

1. Nawab Ali Waseem (Khairpur)

2. Jaadum Mangrio (Sanghar).

1 of Syed

1. Pir Syed Sadruddin Shah (Khairpur);

National People's Party (NPP): It has 2 seats and both are Baloch.

2 of Baloch

1. Muhammad Ibrahim Jatoi (Shikarpur).

2. Murtaza Jatoi (Naushero).

Independent: One is Sammat, Ali Muhammad Khan Mehar (Ghotki).