2018 polls: Self-styled rich candidates perturb ANP workers in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Though the Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary board is yet to announce the names of its nominees for certain constituencies in Peshawar district for contesting the next general election, several rich aspirants have already started posing as the nominated candidates.

The Pakhtun nationalist party had announced it would award tickets to the candidates for national and provincial assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa well ahead of the announcement of the election schedule for the general election.

The ANP has named candidates in most districts of the province but it did not announce tickets for Peshawar’s four National Assembly and nine provincial assembly constituencies for some reasons.

According to an ANP member, the parliamentary board has awarded tickets to former lawmaker Saqibullah Khan Chamkani for PK-11 Peshawar and Ibrar Khalil for PK-5 Peshawar. It didn’t name candidates for the remaining constituencies on which there is an intense race for seeking the tickets.

The ANP is holding joint events on the death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, commonly known as Bacha Khan, and his politician son Khan Abdul Wali Khan in Peshawar on January 28. A campaign has been launched to mobilize party workers and supporters to attend the event. Cashing in on the opportunity, many wealthy and resourceful people have displayed large banners, posters and billboards for the event, posing as the party candidates for next general election.

“These self-styled and resourceful candidatures have not only perturbed the other ticket-seekers but also created unrest and confusion among the party workers in the district,” said an activist of the ANP from PK-9 Peshawar.

He said some wealthy people were exploiting the situation in their favour even though they had even applied for party tickets to the ANP parliamentary board.

“This is a very immature step on the part of some aspirants who are vying for the party tickets for the polls,” said former MPA and ANP ticket-holder for PK-11 Peshawar Saqibullah Chamkani.

He said due to fresh delimitation of constituencies, the candidates and voters were not clear about their new constituency. He added that the ANP parliamentary board had delayed announcement of candidates for the remaining national and provincial assembly seats in Peshawar district.

The ANP had improved its position in the by-elections on NA-4 Peshawar last year even though it lost the seat. The party had won this seat in the 2008 election but lost with a big margin in the 2013 polls.

The party candidate in the by-poll for NA-4 Peshawar, Khushdil Khan, is most likely to contest for provincial assembly PK-10. The party’s local organizations and activists have recommended Arbab Tahir Nadim Khan of Lala Kilay for the ANP ticket for PK-9 Peshawar.

Veteran politician Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Hidayatullah Khan, Haroon Ahmad Bilour and Syed Aqil Shah are among the strong party candidates for the next general election in Peshawar.