TOBA TEK SINGH: Biradri system and spiritual connections have played a significant role in the politics of the area. Owing to presence of several shrines in Kamalia and Pirmahal tehsils, hundreds of their followers abide by the directions of caretakers of the shrines while choosing a candidate or party to vote for.

Shrine caretakers would write letters to their devotees telling them which candidate to vote for depending on which contestant had donated enough to the shrine. However, this time people in both urban and rural areas of the district have become politically conscious and over 60 per cent of urban and 20 to 30 per cent of rural voters are backing the PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), while a few in cities and villages planned to vote for the PPP and religious parties.

The district consists of three National Assembly constituencies: NA-111 (previously NA-92) Gojra, NA-112 (then NA-93) Toba and NA-113 (then NA-94) Kamalia-Pirmahal, while there are six provincial assembly seats.

The Arain biradri is in majority in the district, but in NA-111, both Arain and Jatt are almost equal in number. An Arain, M Hamza, had won four elections from here consecutively till 2002 after which Jatt clan’s Amjad Warraich, his wife Farkhana Amjad and his younger brother Khalid Javed Warraich won in 2002, 2008 and 2013, respectively.

In NA-112, the Arain biradri has been dominating electoral victories since 1965 when late Chaudhry Sultan Ahmad (the father of former Punjab police inspector general Aftab Sultan) won a Toba seat. Members of the biradri have been clinching seats from here in most of the elections at least till 2002.

Similarly, in NA-113, an Arain, Chaudhry Asadur Rehman (the brother of Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday), had won the 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2013 polls.

Rajputs are another dominant clan here. The late Rai Nasrullah Khan was an MLA from Toba; his brother-in-law, the late Rai Habibullah Saadi, was a member of the West Pakistan assembly; and Mr Saadi’s late younger brother, Rai Hafeezullah Tariq, was an MNA in 1970 and 1977 from Kamalia. Late Chaudhry Bashir Khan had been an MNA in 1977 from NA-111 (then NA-80) from Gojra, while his nephew Haji Muhammad Ishaq had won NA-111 in 1988 and PP-119 in 2008.

Gujjars also feature prominently. Late Sardar Altaf, his son late Sardar Saeed Anwar and daughter-in-law Nazia Raheel won provincial assembly seats in 2008 and 2013 from Kamalia. From Gojra, the late Ihsanul Haq Gujjar had been elected as MPA in three polls, and his son-in-law, Azhar Nadeem Gujjar, clinched the same seat, PP-119 (old PP-85), in 2002.

The Syed clan’s Makhdoom Pir Syed Ali Raza is a one-time MNA and five-time MPA, while his son, Hussain Raza, was elected as an MPA from Pirmahal in 2002.

Gadhi (a Baloch tribe) is another biradri prominent here. Late Sardar Ghulam Abbas Gadhi was an MPA in 1970 from Rajana-Kamalia, while Sardar Murad Khan Gadhi was elected MPA four times from Rajana. His elder son, Sardar Masood Khan Gadhi, won the by-election after his death and younger one, retired Col Sardar Ayub Gadhi, was a two-time MPA in 2008 and 2013.

Of the 11 candidates in the race for NA-111, PML-N’s former MNA Khalid Javed Warraich, his elder brother and chief of his own party -- Pakistan National Muslim League (PNML) – former MNA Amjad Ali Warraich, and PTI’s Osama Hamza (son of PML-N former senator Hamza) are likely to battle it out.

The PP-118 constituency that falls under NA-111 has seven candidates, including former MPA Bilal Warraich of the PNML, his elder brother Khalid Javed Warraich and PTI’s Asad Zaman Cheema. PPP’s Begum Sarwat Malik (the wife of former minister Khalid Malik) had joined the PTI and withdrawn her candidature in favour of Cheema after which the PPP did not field any other candidate.

Another constituency under NA-111, PP-119, has 12 contenders, including PML-N former MPA Malik Abdul Qadeer Awan, PTI’s Chaudhry Khalid Bashir, PNML’s Ahsan Ihsan Gujjar and PPP’s former provincial minister Haji Muhammad Ishaq.

For NA-112, the major contest out of 15 candidates will be between PML-N’s former federal state minister Junaid Anwaar and PTI’s central vice president Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq.

The PP-121 that lies under NA-112 has 18 contenders out of which the main contest is likely between PML-N’s Amjad Ali Javed and PTI’s Saeed Ahmad Saeedi. PP-120 will see 12 candidates in the race out of whom PML-N’s retired Col Sardar Ayub Gadhi and PTI’s retired Brig Javed Akram Chaudhry will go head to head.

The NA-113 seat has 17 contenders out of which a tough contest is likely between PML-N’s Chaudhry Asad Ramday and PTI’s Riaz Fatyana. After former federal minister Khalid Kharal’s son Haider withdrew his candidature in favour of Fatyana, the PTI appears to be in a strong position. Allied constituencies of NA-113, PP-122 and PP-123, will see 23 and 18 candidates, respectively vying for the seat.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2018