Exciting contest between JI, ANP candidates expected

TIMERGARA: An exciting competition is expected between the candidates of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Awami National Party (ANP) in the May 7 by-election in the provincial assembly PK-95 constituency in the Lower Dir district.
The JI has fielded a young candidate Aizazul Mulk Ifkari, who is a former student leader of the Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba. Though he is contesting the assembly election for the first time, he is a grassroots worker with lot of energy and organizational skills. This is the reason he was appointed the JI head for Lower Dir district despite his young age.
The ANP has awarded party ticket to a seasonal politician and former member provincial assembly Bahadur Khan.Bahadur Khan was twice elected MPA from the same constituency and enjoys a good reputation in the area. He remained estranged from his party for some time and even considered parting company with the ANP in the recent past. However, he has now reconciled with the party leadership and is trying to mobilize every ANP worker to snatch the seat from the JI.
Bahadur Khan is also considered among the notables of the area. He has been resolving the disputes among the local people and doing social and welfare activities in the area.A point that can boost the position of Bahadur Khan is the development work done by the ANP spokesperson and former Senator Zahid Khan. He had got approved gas supply and other development projects for the Jandol area that can help the ANP candidate win the by-poll.
The JI is also working hard to retain the party seat that fell vacant after the election of JI chief Sirajul Haq to the Senate. Sirajul Haq too has campaigned for his party candidate and has termed the PK-95 seat as a legacy of the JI that needed to be won by campaigning hard in the constituency.
After the announcement of the by-election on PK-95, several aspirants from JI and ANP had submitted nomination papers and some even wanted to contest as independent candidate. Later, both the parties made efforts and persuaded them to withdraw their nomination papers.
Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts have been the stronghold of the JI and the party has been winning both the national and provincial assembly seats there. The ANP and JI have given tough time to each another in elections held in PK-95 in the past.
In previous elections, Sirajul Haq and late Syed Sardar Alam were elected as member of the provincial assembly from this constituency. ANP’s former provincial minister Hidayatullah Khan and Bahadur Khan had also got elected as MPAs from there. In the May 2013 polls, Sirajul Haq had defeated ANP’s Hidayatullah Khan, a former provincial minister, by a wide margin.