Polling remains peaceful

LAHORE
The Local Government elections in the city of the live-hearted people started in a relaxed, lethargic and a festive mood, while it ended in an apprehensive environment, with the “Lions of the PML-N and PTI’s tigers continuously pestering their respective voters to go to polling stations.
The city of Lahore remained calm and relaxed and the city's atmosphere was of a national holiday with little traffic on roads, while a lot of commotion around and in front of various polling stations in and around the city was witnessed.
In Allama Iqbal Town’s Union Council, which sprawls over a huge area including thickly populated Thokar Niaz Beg (A suburban locality), Ali Razabad, Mansoora, Judicial Colony and many such congested localities were buzzing with activities. The ratio of polling was quite slow in the first part of the day. Immediately after the midday, people started getting out of their homes for vote-casting and the election related activity gained momentum hereafter.
The main contest remained between the PTI and PML-N, which after the by-elections' mammoth exercise, was perhaps the most nicely controlled and decent electoral exercise ever taken place in the provincial capital. However, unlike the by-elections, the presence of paramilitary forces could not be seen everywhere except a moving caravan of the Pakistan Rangers who were seen making rounds of various polling stations to make their presence felt to the potential troublemakers. However, the police deployed at the polling stations were not much cooperative with the media who kept denying them entry into the polling stations while showing a complete disregard of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s permission. At some places, the police argued that they respect the Election Commission but they have been ordered by their “High Officials’ not to let the journalists enter into the polling stations. Nevertheless, there were much less unpleasant incidents between the law-enforcement agencies personnel and the media except a few ones.
The most important element, which differentiates the general elections from the Local Government elections, is the general air of ‘Mohaladari’(Neighbourhood) and close social integration of the candidates and the supporters of the contesting parties. This highly important social factor also changes the chemistry of the people and keeps the tempers controlled.
As for its cultural profile, the Lahorites never miss a chance to make any big event an opportunity to enjoy in their own peculiar way. At almost all the polling stations, the respective political parties, mainly the PML-N and PTI, distributed Biryani, sweets, Nan and Haleem, fast-food packets, soft drinks and fruit among their polling office staff.
The kids, the most important and integral part of any festivity and mega event despite being the non-voters, made the entire exercise a feast for the eyes and a very interesting feature of the Local Government elections. Come what may, the city of Lahore has always lived up to its reputation of being the people who have a special ingredient which makes or breaks a political myth and makes a pauper a king or a king a pauper overnight.