Tough contest likely between PTI, ANP candidates in Nowshera

PESHAWAR: A tough contest is expected between the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party (ANP) candidates for district and tehsil councils in Nowshera district where Liaqat Ali Khattak, a former member provincial assembly and brother of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, is the main aspirant for the slot of the district nazim.
According to an official of district election commission, a total of 221 candidates are in the run for 47 district council seats while 225 are contesting for 47 tehsil councils in three tehsils of the Nowshera district.
The tripartite alliance - Awami National Party, Pakistan People’s Party and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl - has fielded joint candidates for all district and tehsil councils. Most of them are belonging to the Awami National Party.
Similarly, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has fielded candidates for all district and tehsil councils while its coalition partner Jamaat-i- Islami has also awarded tickets to candidates for district and tehsil councils in the Nowshera district where the electoral alliance between PTI and JI is not that much stronger as compared to other parts of the province.
The scheduled public meeting of PTI chief Imran Khan in Nowshera today (Wednesday) will boost the PTI election campaign in the district, said a political observer Ghafoor Khan. He pointed out that the party candidates had already held successful public meetings in each union council of the district.
On the other hand a former chief minister and provincial president of the ANP Amir Haider Khan Hoti also held election rallies in support of the tri-partite candidates. He is expected to hold a big election rally ahead of LG polls in Nowshera and Mardan districts.
However, the rival candidates of PTI have accused the provincial government including chief minister and some provincial ministers of influencing the election campaign with developmental funds and uplift projects across the district.
“The provincial government is utilizing government machinery and government resources for the PTI candidates, particularly for the brother of chief minister,” said Malik Juma Khan, the district president of the ANP and a candidate for district council. He said that the chief minister’s brother Liaqat Khattak was acting as chief executive of the province and was announcing developmental projects in his election campaign.
In some of the constituencies, the tri-partite candidates will face a tough time from those independent candidates who had revolted against their respective party’s decisions about awarding tickets for LG polls
Likewise, the PTI and JI candidates will divide vote banks in most of the district and tehsil council constituencies. However, the disgruntled PTI candidates might split the party votes in the district where PTI secured all five provincial assembly seats and two National Assembly seats in the May 2013 general elections.
It is worth to mentioning here that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak served as Nowshera district nazim during the Musharraf regime while his nephew and son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak, now an MNA, was elected as tehsil nazim after 2006 LG polls in Nowshera.