CHITRAL: The electoral alliance of two religio-political parties Jamaat-i-Islami and JUI-F has unnerved the other popular political parties in the district.

Out of 24 wards of the district council in Chitral, the religious alliance has fielded joint candidates in 16 wards, including Arandu, Ashrait, Drosh-I, Drosh-II, Sheshi Koh, Ayun, Broze, Chitral-I, Chitral-II, Denin, Koh, Oveer, Kosht, Mulkhow, Terich and Shagram.

The PPP and PTI have fielded candidates in 22 wards each while APML has fielded candidates in 15 wards after the three parties decided to make solo flight following their failure to forge electoral alliance against the religious parties.

However, a seat adjustment has been made between PTI and APML in Denin ward and between APML and PPP in Drosh-II ward.

The district leaders of different political parties are contesting elections in different wards of zilla council, who included Maghfirat Shah of JI from Denin, Shahzada Khalid Parvaiz of APML from Drosh-II, Rahmat Ghazi and Abdul Latif of PTI from Booni and Oveer, respectively, and former MPA Maulana Abdur Rahman of JUI from Koh.

The alliance of the two religious parties had done well in 2002 general elections when they jointly won both the seats of provincial assemblies and the lone seat of national assembly from Chitral with a thumping majority.

The leaders of both JI and JUI are confident to return in almost all the 16 wards and also to win the coveted slot of district nazim.

Maghfirat Shah claimed that the triumph of the alliance was likely as people were demanding alliance of the two parties.

The PPP has been the most popular party in Chitral as it won both the constituencies of provincial assembly during the last general elections. The PPP MPAs are striving to get a favorable result in the LG polls, the rift within the party ranks might hamper their efforts.

A splinter group of union nazims in the former zilla council are against the party and supporting other candidates in their respective wards.

The PTI also stands divided which can hamper its victory, as its contesting candidates are facing tough time in their respective wards. The political circles are of the view that the party may be out from the next phase for district and tehsil nazims.

The APML candidates may do well in a number of wards, including Drosh-II, Yarkhun, Laspur, Karimabad and Khot, where the party had gained highest percentage of votes in the last general elections. The special affinity of the former president Parvaiz Musharraf with the people of Chitral would be a plus point for the party candidates.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015

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