BAHAWALPUR: The real contest for NA-171 (Bahawalpur-II) is likely to be among the three heavyweights, namely former PML-N’s federal minister Mian Riaz Hussain Peerzada, former district nazim and PML-Q Secretary General Tariq Cheema and PTI’s Chaudhry Naeemuddin Warraich.

There are seven total contestants for the constituency and they include the PPP’s Syed Salman Ahmad Gardezi, Hafiz Khair Muhammad of the Muttahida Majalis-i-Amal (MMA), Khan Khudayar Khan of the Tahreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and Aleemullah Warraich, an independent candidate.

The constituency comprising the areas of tehsils Hasilpur and Khairpur Tamewali and it has been the contesting arena for the arch rivals of the Peerzadas and the Gardezis in the past. But during the recent years after the lack of interest of the Gardezis in their native place, Riaz Peerzada and his nephew Kazim Ali Peerzada had been reigning over the area. Now Salman Gardezi has come back to contest the election after years of absence.

In the absence of the Gardezis from the their own area, Naeemuddin Warraich managed to get an opportunity to consolidate his position with the result that in 2013 election, Riaz Peerzada had a hard time to win against Warraich. Presence of Tariq Cheema also contributed to the defeat of Warraich. This time again, the election would be a three-way contest though the PPP’s Salman Gardezi is also in the field.

NA-171 comprises mostly of Punjabi and Seraiki speaking voters belonging to a majority of Jat clan on whom Naeem Warraich mainly depend. But Tariq Cheema too has inroads in Jat clan and he expects to get a major share of its votes while Peerzada could a claim over a majority of votes of Seraiki-speaking people. He may also get support of Jat clan due to the PML-N’s candidate Afzal Gill from PP-248- (Bahawalpur-4) which is in the area of the National Assembly constituency.

PML-Q’s Tariq Cheema had lost the 2013 election but he had bagged a substantial number of votes. Dawn learnt that Cheema would give a tough time to the PTI’s Warraich.

Naeemuddin Warraich is a settler from Gujrat while his whole family is still settled there. Despite a seat adjustment between the PML-Q with PTI, the PTI could not prevail upon Cheema to refrain contesting against its candidate, Warraich, in NA-171 though PTI did not field its candidate in NA-172 from where Cheema is also contesting.

Cheema may have the blessings of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat to oppose Warraich in NA-171. The political observers are of the opinion that Warraich may get the maximum number of votes this time. He had been more in contact with the voters irrespective of the caste or language during the previous five years and had been serving the people without discrimination. Reports claim he has been arranging mass marriages of the deserving girls and giving free medicines to the needy and ailing in the area while Riaz Peerzada was attending National Assembly sessions in Islamabad while and Tariq Cheema was also away.

Afzal Gill of the PML-N in PP-248, a provincial assembly constituency in NA-171, is mainly depending on his Jat clan and Punjabi votes but he may also get Seraiki support due to Riaz Peerzada. His opponents are PTI’s Syed Ali Zain Bokhari, Muhammad Ayyaz of the TLP and four independents, Khalil Ahmed, Zaheer Anjum, Malik Muhammad Naeem and Munir Hussain Gill.

In PP-247, Riaz’s nephew Kazim Ali Peerzada is in the contest on a PML-N ticket for the second consecutive term. Kazim is in the competition with four candidates, including the PTI’s Syed Bilal Mustafa Gardezi, MMA’s Hafiz Khair Muhammad, PPP’s Rao Tariq Mehmood and Muhammad Nawaz as an independent candidate.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2018