Exciting contest between JI, ANP expected

TIMERGARA: An absorbing contest is expected between Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Awami National Party (ANP) in the by-election for the provincial assembly seat PK-95 today.
JI chief Sirajul Haq vacated the seat when he contested and won election for a seat in the Senate. Political observers expect a tough contest between Izazul Mulk Afkari of the JI and ANP’s Haji Bahadur Khan.Afkari is the Lower Dir president for JI and has been a student leader. He is relatively young and active as a party loyalist.
Bahadur Khan of ANP is a former MPA who had become estranged from the party for some time. He too has pockets of support but it remains to be seen of former ANP MPA and minister Hidayatullah and his supporters vote for him or not.
Both JI and ANP have strong vote bank in the constituency. However, the PTI vote bank would play a decisive role in the results of the polls. The PTI workers wanted to put up their own candidate but the party leadership decided to support the nominee of its ally, JI, which is part of the coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It remains to be seen if the PTI members and supporters would vote for the JI candidate.
The PTI workers are unhappy with the JI’s performance in the district. They allege that local leaders of PTI had not been consulted before launching development projects in the area.The election commission has established 179 polling booths for the 86,926 registered male voters and 85 booths for the 53,817 female voters in the constituency. Around 2,300 policemen would perform duty on the polling day.
The ANP workers said that they would ask their female supporters to poll their votes if female voters of the JI cast votes.The observers say the by-election would have strong impact on the local government elections being held on May 30.
The JI wants to retain the seat as the constituency is in the hometown of Senator Sirajul Haq, the chief of JI. Also, a victory would start revival of ANP fortunes after having suffered a crushing defeat in the 2013 general election in the province after ruling it for five years.