CHP takes out heavy guns for Istanbul ahead of general elections

A successful result in Istanbul, Turkey?s biggest city in terms of both the population and the economy, will be a main battleground for the main opposition Republican People?s Party (CHP) in the June 7 general elections.
 
CHP leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu visited his party organization in Istanbul yesterday, as part of the CHP?s ambitious target to be the top party in the city, which will send 88 lawmakers to parliament in three electoral regions.
 
?We will work in Istanbul, where certain spots have become the centers of poverty,? K?l?çdaro?lu told party members during his visit. ?We have children and women who live in Istanbul but have never even seen the sea. There are 4 million homes in Istanbul; we will reach each and every one of them. Our provincial leader has promised, we will.?
 
Istanbul is also a personally special place for K?l?çdaro?lu, whose political career took off when he ran for the mayor?s post in the city in 2009, losing out to incumbent Kadir Topba? but increasing his party?s vote share. That is why last December he appointed one of the party?s big guns, Murat Karayalç?n, to the provincial post in the city which, with millions of people who have migrated from across the country, reflects the political dynamics of a whole country rather than just a city.
 
Karayalç?n, a former mayor of Ankara who left the deputy prime minister and foreign minister?s post in 1995 to merge his Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) with Deniz Baykal?s CHP, humbly accepted the post, although he has spent his entire life and political career in Ankara.
 
In a meeting with the press on Jan. 28, Karayalç?n set the target of getting more votes than the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul.
 
Despite the...