Absorbing contest likely between JI, PPP candidates

DIR: A Pakistan People’s Party candidate backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Awami National Party would try to snatch victory from the Jamaat-i-Islami in by-election for a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seat in Upper Dir district tomorrow.
The PK-93 seat belongs to the Jamaat-i-Islami as it had won it in the May 2013 general election. The party is under pressure to retain it after the seat became vacant due to the disqualification of the JI MPA, Malik Behram Khan, by the Election Tribunal for possessing a fake degree.
Malik Behram’s unseating damaged the JI reputation. It was further dented when the party gave the ticket to Malik Behram’s son Malik Azam Khan to contest the by-election. Though this family is influential and its members have been winning this seat in the past, some voters may not vote for it this time.
Another question mark for the JI is the mood of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) voters. In fact, the PTI votes could hold the balance in enabling the JI candidate to win or lose. The PTI withdrew its candidate in favour of the JI as part of the broader understanding between the two parties as coalition partners in the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The PPP candidate Sahibzada Sanaullah has run a spirited campaign despite the growing alienation of the voters in the province with the party. He had fought a legal battle to get the JI lawmaker Malik Behram de-seated and is now hoping to defeat his young son, Azam Khan.
The PPP candidate is banking on the ANP, JUI-F and PML-N voters to facilitate his victory. The PPP vote-bank has shrunk in Upper Dir like in rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country. It is now dependent on other parties to augment its votes and make it win.
Upper Dir is a stronghold of JI as it won all the national and provincial assemblies’ seats in the May 2013 general election. JI chief Sirajul Haq on Friday visited Upper Dir and addressed a public gathering in Wari to seek votes for his party candidate Malik Azam Khan.
The contest will be absorbing and the outcome at this stage is difficult to predict.