CHAKWAL: The PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
prepare for the by-election in Chakwal’s PP-20 which is scheduled for
Jan 9 and which may set the course in the district for the upcoming
general elections.
PP-20 has been a stronghold of the
ruling PML-N since 1985 but it may not be as easy for the party to win
this election due to many reasons, the major among which are the
disqualification of party chief Nawaz Sharif as prime minister, money
laundering allegations and the controversial amendment in the election
bill.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
(PTI), the archrival of the ruling party in Chakwal, has also managed to
secure the support of PPP and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) which
means the PTI will be able to give the ruling party a tough competition
in these by-polls.
The seat fell vacant after the death of PML-N MPA Chaudhry Liaquat Ali Khan in October
The seat on which the elections are to be held fell vacant
on Oct 30 with the death of PML-N MPA Chaudhry Liaquat Ali Khan, who had
won seven elections since 1985. He could not contest the elections in
2002 and 2008 due to the graduation restriction and his wife, Iffat
Liaquat contested them instead.
In 2002, she secured
34,901 votes while Pakistan Muslim League Q candidate Chaudhry Ejaz
Hussein Farhat won by securing 41,283 votes. However, she won the 2008
elections by securing 50,039 votes against Mr Farhat’s 42,992.
When
the graduation condition was lifted, the Late Chaudhry Liaquat Ali Khan
won next elections with 62,088 votes, the highest in the history of
PP-20.
His 32-year-old son, Chaudhry Sultan Haider Ali
will now contest the elections in the constituency, for the first time,
and will be up against PTI’s Raja Tariq Mehmood Afzal who is also
contesting for a provincial assembly seat for the first time but has
been in politics for a long time.
The PPP fielded Nawab
Taimoor but withdrew its candidate in favour of PTI while the PAT did
not field any candidate. Both the PPP and PAT have announced to support
PTI in the election.
There are three other contestants
in the polls- Chaudhry Nasir Abbas of the Tehreek-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah
and two local journalists Chaudhry Imran Qaiser Abbas and Mohammad
Tufail. Mr Abbas secured an Awami National Party ticket while Mr Tufail
founded his own political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat which
was not awarded the party symbol he wanted, rosary beads, as the
Election Commission of Pakistan cancelled all religious symbols
recently.
However, the fight is really between the PML-N and the PTI and leaders of both parties seem confident.
PTI
believes that because its candidate is from an influential family, he
will be able to secure more votes including voters of the Sardar Ghulam
Abbas group as he was associated with the group for a long time. A rival
of the PML-N since long, Sardar Ghulam Abbas joined the party in 2016.
His decision of joining the party he had fought all this time did not go
well with his voters and the move has had many consequences.
Chairman
of Union Council Dullah, Sardar Arif, who was a close aide of Mr Abbas,
recently joined the PTI which has made the PTI hopeful that this will
at least win them the support of former MPA Chaudhry Ejaz Hussein
Farhat, even if he does not formally join the party.
“The
PTI awarded its ticket to Tariq Mehmood Afzal instead of Chaudhry Ali
Nasir Khan Bhatti, who won 32,827 votes earlier. Mr Afzal is a close
relative of former MPA Chaudhry Ejaz Hussein Farhat and the Sardars of
Dullah, an influential political tribe. These two families have been the
backbone of Sardar Ghulam Abbas and now they will support the PTI’s
candidate,” said a senior PTI leader.
“PTI will give
PML-N a tough time as the party is getting stronger every day,” said
Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfaraz, the party’s senior vice president for the
northern region.
“I am very optimistic because people in the rural areas are announcing their support for the PTI,” he said.
PML-N’s Chaudhry Sultan Haider Ali Khan, on the other hand, said he thinks his party will easily win the elections.
“Frictions
are usual at the time of any elections and our path to victory is very
clear as we have the support of the people,” he said.
