RAWALPINDI: As residents of Rawalpindi go to polls today (Sunday), a neck-and-neck competition is expected between the two mainstream parties — PML-N and PTI — for NA-60.

PML-N candidate Sajjad Khan will face PTI’s Sheikh Rashid Shafique, nephew of Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

Election for the seat was postponed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on July 22 after the disqualification of PML-N candidate Hanif Abbasi following his conviction by the Control of Narcotics Substances Court in the ephedrine case.

According to the ECP, there are 357,786 registered voters in the constituency.

As many as 329 polling stations have been set up in the area – 157 for male voters and 141 for female voters.

The district administration has declared 21 polling stations sensitive and deployed army and extra police force there.

Nine candidates are contesting the election, including six independents and Zahid Aqeel of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Nine candidates vying for NA-60 where election could not be held on July 25 due to disqualification of Hanif Abbasi

The PML-N has the support of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) against the ruling PTI.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) remains divided in Punjab as Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has not fielded any candidate and announced that it will not support any candidate. But the JUI-F is backing the PML-N.

The constituency spreads over upscale and middle class areas such as Satellite Town, Chah Sultan, Dhoke Khabba, Muslim Town, Dhoke Kala Khan, Dhoke Paracha, Pindora, Gawalmandi, parts of Rawalpindi Cantonment, parts of Saddar, Ayub Park area, Shakrial, Gulzar-i-Quaid, Dhoke Kashmirian, Gulistan Colony, almost all of Chaklala Cantonment including the airbase and all the housing schemes, Askari-I to Askari-VI, Sadiqabad and Rehmatabad.

A majority of the population in the constituency comprises Pakhtuns, Abbasis and Kashmiris.

Sheikh Rashid Shafique has been allotted the ticket by the PTI but there is resentment among the party leaders and workers against his uncle, the railways minister.

As many as 12 PTI workers and local leaders had submitted nomination papers for the election but 10 of them withdrew their papers while two PTI workers – Azhar Aslam and Aftab Qureshi – are still in the arena.

On the other hand, the PML-N, which was divided in the July 25 elections, managed to gather all its leaders and workers after removing their differences.

The PML-N has the support of the PPP and JUI-F and traders. The PTI candidate is also having support of the locals and the contest between them would be tough.

The election campaign remained lacklustre due to lack of interest among the political parties. No prominent mainstream leaders visited the city from both the PML-N and PTI.

Sheikh Rashid received a show-cause notice from the ECP after he joined his nephew’s election campaign.

Hamza Shahbaz of the PML-N was expected to visit the city before the election but he also opted to stay engaged in the election campaign in Lahore.

When contacted, PML-N city president Sardar Naseem said the election would be won by his party through the popularity wave of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz and people would take revenge from the ruling party by giving votes to the PML-N.

He said the party’s position was better compared to that of the other candidates as the PML-N had fielded an experienced personality who served as the tehsil nazim and worked for the betterment of the city residents.

He said within a month after coming to power, the PTI government increased prices of edibles and the surge in petroleum and gas prices had exposed its performance. He said people now wanted to bring back PML-N.

On the other hand, PTI former MPA Arif Abbasi said his party’s position was better as people loved Imran Khan and gave vote for him.

He said the opposition PML-N had failed to provide any relief to the people during the last 10 years and people wanted a change.

He said during the last one month, the PTI improved governance and provided a secure environment to the people.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2018