Election drive gains momentum in Abbottabad

ABBOTTABAD: The election campaign has gained momentum in Abbottabad district where political heavyweights have been engaged to attract voters with different catchy slogans to secure victory in the coming elections.

Candidates and leaders of all the major political parties are addressing public gatherings and corner meetings while supporters and party workers have started door-to-door campaigns in favour of their respective party candidates.

The city has been decorated with panaflexes, banners, posters and flags as most of the candidates and political parties have established offices where their supporters are active. In Abbottabad, 101 candidates would contest two national and four provincial assembly seats where besides candidates of PMLN, PPP, JUIF, JI, PTIP, HQM, QWP, and PAT, a large number of independent candidates are also flexing their muscles in the electoral arena.

Beside public gatherings and corner meetings, social media has also become a handy tool for election contenders. Tough contest is expected between former chief minister Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan and former deputy speaker of National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbassi in the National Assembly constituency NA-16 where 17 candidates are contesting, including PTI-backed Ali Asghar Khan who is a son of the late Air Marshal Asghar Khan and is contesting as an independent candidate.

Murtaza Javed has been awarded a ticket by PMLN, while Sardar Mahtab is an independent candidate. Sardar Mehtab decided to change his constituency from NA-17 to NA-16 after recent delimitations as Bakote circle, his stronghold, was shifted in NA-16. Murtaza Javed seems to have a strong position in his time-tested constituency where Mian Nawaz Sharif had also won.

The Sardar Mahtab camp has also played a political move to announce support for Ali Khan Jadoon, a PTI-backed candidate contesting from NA-17, just to get the backing and support of PTI in NA-16. However, they have so far failed to get any support as Ali Asghar Khan, backed by PTI, has been actively engaged in holding public meetings and election campaign all over the constituency.

Former governor and chief minsiter Sardar Mahtab, considered to be a seasoned politician, has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate against his own party candidate and he has faced severe action from his party PMLN in the shape of expulsion from

the party.

The NA-16 consists of 554,426 voters, including 260862 male and 293564 female votes, and has 463 polling stations and 1307 booths.

The NA-17 consisting of Abbottabad city is being contested by 11 candidates including Mohabat Awan of PMLN who will face former MNA Ali Khan Jadoon contesting independently after the ban on PTI. Ali Khan Jadoon is a son of former federal minister Ammanullah Khan Jadoon.

On the other hand, the PMLN has awarded a party ticket to Mohabbat Awan who already lost against Jadoon in the 2018 elections. The PPP has awarded a party ticket to Syed Saleem, who may get sufficient votes from urban areas where the PPP already has a vote bank.

NA17 constituency has a total 398195 votes, which include 190367 men and 207828 women votes. A total of 323 polling stations were constituted in the constituency, including 175 combined and 74 for males and females each, while there are 967 polling booths.