PESHAWAR, Dec 25: The Awami National Party, the largest nationalist political force in the NWFP, is banking on ‘bad performance’ of the then Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government as it hopes to stage a comeback in the parliamentary polls.

The party was wiped out of the provincial political landscape in the election in 2002.

It has fielded 23 candidates for the National Assembly in the NWFP and four in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, although its candidates cannot use its election symbol of lantern in Fata. The Political Parties Order, 2002, has not been implemented in Fata.

“We hope to get 35 to 45 seats in the NWFP Assembly and 10 to 12 seats in the National Assembly,” said an ANP leader. He said the problems caused as a result of a revolt by some local leaders had been solved by the party.

Provincial ANP chief Afrasiab Khattak is not contesting the election and is concentrating on running the campaign of the party’s candidates. He frequently addresses public meetings in different districts and is leaving no stone unturned in capitalising on the failures of the MMA during its rule.

The party’s central leader Asfandyar Wali Khan is focusing his campaign on criticism of the MMA.

The Jamaat-i-Islami’s decision to join the All Parties’ Democratic Movement and call for a boycott of the election could deal a serious blow to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl).

The JUI-F is trailing far behind the ANP and the Pakistan People’s Party in the election campaign and one can hardly spot posters and banners of its candidates in several cities of the province.

The ANP had linked its boycott of the election to the JUI-F’s decision.

The party has fielded new faces in several constituencies and its candidates are running their campaign aggressively in Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and other cities. Large billboards of ANP candidates dominate the scene in those cities.

Its seven-page manifesto indicates that the ANP is relying on the people’s sentiments regarding provincial autonomy, bombardment on Fata and permission for political activities in tribal areas.

The ANP chief seems confident and he has announced that the party would not enter into an alliance or seat adjustment.

However, he is facing a tough contest in his native Charsadda district, where the PPP and the JUI-F have united against him. Sensing the situation, he is also contesting from Swabi, an ANP stronghold.