RAWALPINDI, Oct 6: Raja Javed Ikhlas, the ruling party candidate, was elected Rawalpindi district nazim, defeating his former boss, ex-nazim Raja Tariq Kiani, by 418 votes.
In the other major contest in the district, the PML candidate Sardar Ghulam Abbas defeated the formidable Gen (retired) Majeed Malik, also belonging to PML but a dissident, in the contest for Chakwal district nazim.
Whatever may have been the odds, it was being speculated that the government party supported candidates generally would win the top slots in the final phase of the Local Government elections held on Thursday.
Former district naib nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas got 1,174 votes as compared to Mr Kiani’s 756 votes. The former nazim, who in 2001 contested as government candidate, could not win from any of the eight towns of the district.
He was the consensus opposition candidate supported by Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal and Pakistan Tehrike Insaaf. One thing clear from the results was that Mr Kiani failed to win the whole-hearted support of opposition parties particularly PPP.
Mr Kiani was further banking on differences within the ruling party, but it looks this strategy did not work. Mr Ikhlas obtained 273 votes from Potohar Town, 87 from Taxila Town, 89 from Kotli Sattian, 112 from Kahuta, 300 from Rawal Town, 71 from Kallar Town and 242 from Gujar Khan.
Mr Kiani’s town-wise tally was 156 in Potohar, 38 in Taxila, 31 in Kotli Sattian, 48 in Kahuta, 276 in Rawal Town, 60 in Kallar Syedan and 147 in Gujar Khan.
The primary focus of Mr Ikhlas’ campaign was getting more development funds for the district. He repeatedly criticised Mr Kiani for failing to get development funds from the provincial government for being indifferent to the chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Illahi.
On the other hand Mr Kiani had based his campaign on his successes during his four year tenure, but that wasn’t enough to convince the voters.
Political observers see the results as growing influence of the government at the grass-root level. Besides, the money factor was very evident.
RAWAL TOWN: The failure of the opposition parties to field a joint candidate benefited the ruling party-backed candidate Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, who is Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s nephew. He obtained 262 votes.
Opposition candidates Mian Khurram Rasool of PPP’s Awam Dost got 168, while Jamhooriat Nawaz candidate Sardar Nasim obtained of PML-N 138 votes. Had the opposition fielded a joint candidate, they would have successfully clinched the Rawal Town nazim slot since their joint vote total was much higher than Mr Shafiq’s.
Historically looking information minister’s key to successful political career has been a divided opposition vote. The only time this vote got together was in 2002 by-elections and Mr Ahmed’s nominee Mr Shafiq got defeated.
POTOHAR TOWN: Former Rawalpindi tehsil nazim Raja Hamid Nawaz won the town nazim slot defeating ARD’s consensus candidate Numbardar Mukhtar Abbass by 186 votes.
Mr Nawaz is one of the two former tehsil nazims of Rawalpindi district who were re-elected as town nazims. He got 306 votes, while his opponent Mr Abbass 120 votes.
Although, this result was very much expected, but there are two interesting aspects to it. Firstly Mr Abbass put up a much stronger fight than it was being expected and secondly Mr Ikhlas got lesser votes than Mr Nawaz, showing lesser number of PML voters voted for the newly-elected city district nazim.
KAHUTA: PML nominee Mr Tariq Murtaza defeated both opposition candidates Mr Shaukat Janjua of PML(N) and Mr Sattarullah of PPP.
Mr Murtaza obtained 96 votes, while the losing candidates Mr Janjua and Mr Satarullah got 39 and 31 votes respectively.
TAXILA: The other former tehsil nazim to win another term in office is Mr Siddiq Khan, brother of labour and manpower minister Mr Sarwar Khan, who defeated Hafiz Saad, an opposition candidate. Mr Khan got 80 votes, while Mr Saad got 46 votes.
KOTLI SATTIAN: PML’s Shahzad Satti obtained 74 votes to defeat both opposition candidates Mr Jabbar Satti and Mr Khurshid Satti, who got 29 and 16 votes respectively.
KALLAR SYEDAN: Former Kahuta tehsil nazim Abdul Majid Mirza, who had switched loyalties to PPP was defeated by PML nominee, former PPP man, Sohail Ashraf. Mr Ashraf was also being supported by PML(N) chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.
GUJAR KHAN: Division in PML ranks wasn’t enough to stop the PML charge in this town also. PML supported Chaudhry Muhammad Azim was elected as town nazim by getting 181 votes. The runner- up here was another PML man Shaukat Aziz, who had failed to get the party ticket, ended up with 131 votes. The opposition candidate Raja Hamid could get a paltry 76 votes.
ABID ABBASI FROM MURREE ADDS: This is the only town were the government apparently suffered a set-back as a PML dissident Sardar Saleem defeated the official PML candidate Almas Abbasi by 24 votes. Mr Saleem got 102 votes, while Mr Abbassi got 78 votes.
Mr Abbassi, previously a hopeful from PML(N) camp, had joined the ruling PML prior to the elections.
Tanveerul Islam adds from Chakwal: The ruling party candidate Sardar Ghulam Abbas clinched the district nazim slot by defeating Lt. Gen (retired) Majeed Malik by 132 votes in the final phase of the local government elections here on Thursday.
Out of the total 834 councillors, nazims and niab nazims, Mr Abbas bagged 477 votes, while the PML senior vice-president Majeed Malik got 345 votes.
Similarly, three out of the four tehsils also fell to the government-backed candidates except for Talagang where Malik Saleem Iqbal of United Front defeated the official nominee Mohammad Ali Dher Moond by a narrow margin of 17 votes.
After a close fight, Mr Ali got 128 votes, while Malik Saleem Iqbal got 145 votes. The number of the total voters was 279.
Sardar Aftab Akbar, a relative of Sardar Abbas, reached the tehsil office by bagging 234 out of 373 votes against his rival Sardar Zulfikar Dulha of General Group, who got 132 votes, say unofficial sources.
In Kalar Kahar tehsil, Pir Sajid of the ruling PML became the first ever tehsil nazim of this newly created tehsil and got 51 out of 97 total votes. His rival Aslam Sethi secured 45 votes. One vote was rejected.
In Choa Saidan Shah tehsil, Raja Nasir Jamal of the ruling PML reached the tehsil office by bagging 50 votes. His rivals Raja Sa’ad of General Group and Mohammad Shafique Cheema, independent, got 35 and 2 votes respectively.
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