Polling stations see great hustle, bustle in Peshawar, other parts of KP

PESHAWAR: A great hustle and bustle was seen at most of the polling stations in the provincial metropolis and elsewhere in the province as workers of different political parties remained busy in facilitating voters to win their support for candidates.

The polling started exactly at 8 am and continued uninterrupted till 6 pm.

The polling camps of different candidates outside the polling station were seen full of the activists. The camps were decorated with flags, banners and posters and loud music and party anthems were being played. The PTI camps seemed more active than the others in Peshawar. However, there was also rush at the camps organised by the Awami National Party (ANP), Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and even Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). It was interesting to see many former PTI voters now supporting and voting for the not-so-popular candidates of the PML-N.

At Surezai Bala village outside Peshawar, the polling camps of the PTI were crowded. The village falls in the National Assembly constituency NA-28 where the PTI had fielded Arbab Amir Ayub and the provincial assembly seat PK-70 for which the party candidate was former minister Shah Farman. The MMA candidate Jan Afzal for the provincial assembly hailed from Surezai Bala village and it was clear he enjoyed popular support of his villagers.

The activists of ANP were also very active in support of Khushdil Khan, a candidate for the provincial assembly seat.

The polling station at Surezai Bala was filled to capacity with voters. Outside the polling station, too, there were long queues of voters.

Almost similar was the situation at Phandhu, Urmar, Mera Kachori, Dheri Baghbanan, Shamshatoo and other villages in PK-70.

The law and order situation in this area remained under control. Army personnel had been deployed inside the polling stations. At the gates of every polling station, a policeman remained on duty to allow or deny people’s entry inside for casting vote.

The voter turnout at the majority of the polling stations visited by this reporter seemed higher than the previous occasions. The army personnel were seen patrolling the roads to keep the situation under control and meet any untoward happening. During the day great rush was seen at the polling stations, but the roads remained free of traffic. Also, most of the shops in the markets remained closed. The deserted roads enabled the children to play cricket at some locations.

In Mardan, long queues of people were seen at the Government Primary School Muliano Killey in Takht Bhai town even before the commencement of the balloting as the voters wanted to cast votes before it became too hot.

At Jandhai village, the voters were seen anxiously waiting in long queues for their turn early in the morning to cast the ballot.

The surrounding area near the polling station had been beautified with red, green and white flags and candidates’ posters. At Rashakai in Nowshera district, there were flags of all colours everywhere. The buildings in the main bazaar were bedecked with a number of flags hoisted high on the roofs.

The polling stations in these towns were full of activity. The PTI, ANP and MMA seemed to be the main contestants in these constituencies.