The gateway to south Punjab, Khanewal district has always had unique politics. Consisting of four tehsils — Khanewal, Mianchannu, Kabirwala and Jahanian — politics here is dominated by certain families, including the Syeds of Qatalpur (Kabirwala), the Dahas and Hirajs (Khanewal and Kabirwala), the Bodlas and Qureshis (Mianchannu) and the Maitlas and Wahlas (Jahanian). Once a tehsil of Multan, the politics of Khanewal came into sharper focus when Syed Fakhr Imam, who had been elected as a National Assembly member from Kabirwala, rebelled against Gen Ziaul Haq's men in the party-less elections of 1985.

Fakhr Imam was elected an MNA in 1990, and then again in 1997. In 2006, he joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and was nominated to its central executive committee. He rejoined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz last month.

Another prominent figure here was Ghulam Haider Wyne, who was gunned down in an ambush in Mianchannu tehsil during an election campaign in September 1993. Mr Wyne was something of an exception as he had risen up the ranks to join the other politicians of the area, whose families have traditionally dominated politically.

The Bodlas and the Qureshis, too, are renowned political families here. Pir Aslam Bodla’s father, Pir Sanaullah Bodla, was a long-time rival of Mr Wyne and others. Aslam Bodla has himself been in the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and this time he is going to contest the election under the PML-N banner.

The district also has two powerful and interlinked groups of the Hiraj family, one in Kabirwala and the other in Khanewal. In Kabirwala, the Hiraj group is led by former MNA Raza Hayat Hiraj, son of former PPP MNA the late Iqbal Hiraj. In Khanewal the Hiraj group is headed by former district nazim Sardar Hamid Yar Hiraj, who is the eldest son of Sardar Allah Yar Hiraj.

Jahanian tehsil is home to the Maitlas and the Wahlas. The Qureshis also wielded considerable influence here in the past when, under the old demarcation, half of this tehsil was part of Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s Multan constituency. Malik Ghulam Murtaza Maitla and Karam Dad Wahla are currently the most active from these powerful families.

May 11 is likely to be a close contest over the four national (NA-156 to NA 159) and eight provincial (PP-211 to PP-218) constituencies.

The PML-N has drawn some senior politicians from the PPP and PML-Q, including former MNAs Syed Fakhr Imam, Pir Aslam Bodla and Iftikhar Nazir Chaudhry.

In NA-156, Fakhr Imam is going to face Raza Hayat Hiraj who is running as an independent candidate. The cousin and brother-in-law of the former, Dr Syed Khawar Shah, is contesting on a PTI ticket. Maulana Abdul Khaliq Rehmani of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat is also in the race.

In the 2008 election Fakhr Imam, then a PPP candidate, was the runner-up to Raza Hiraj by a substantial margin. The PPP has no candidate in the constituency.

In NA-157, the contest will be between the PML-Q and the PPP’s joint candidate Hamid Yar Hiraj and the PML-N’s Mohammed Khan Daha. Defeated by Mr Hiraj by a few hundred votes in 2008, Mr Daha has the potential of forging ahead this time around. Nevertheless, if Mr Hiraj is able get a good portion from the around 20,000 votes that went to the PPP candidate, Syed Faisal Imam, the last time, he will be a formidable opponent.

In NA-158, a close battle is expected between the PPP’s Haidar Zaman Qureshi and the PML-N’s Pir Aslam Bodla. The last time Mr Bodla defeated Mr Qureshi by less than a thousand votes. Though the PTI and the Jamaat-i-Islami have also fielded candidates in this constituency, they look far from threatening at this point.

In NA-159, the PTI has fielded a strong candidate in former MNA Malik Ghulam Murtaza Maitla. In 2008, Mr Maitla lost by a wide margin to then PPP candidate Iftikhar Nazir Chaudhry. After Mr Chaudhry joined the PML-N recently, a tough fight is expected between him and Mr Maitla. Not having too many choices, the PPP has fielded Asad Iqbal Gill who is contesting on the party’s ticket for the first time.

For the provincial assembly seats, the situation has changed drastically due to the crossover of erstwhile PPP and PML-Q members to the PML-N. After the arrangement, stiff competition is expected.