LAHORE: The battle for the throne of Punjab is ready to be fought and voting will be held on 20 seats across the province on Sunday (today).
All arrangements for the by-polls have been completed by the Election Commission of Pakistan as well as the federal and Punjab provincial government. An intense and neck-and-neck contest is expected on all 20 seats between the candidates of ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
These seats fell vacant as a result of the revolt within the PTI. The PMLN, the ruling party in Punjab, needs to win at least 10, out of 20 seats, to stay in power, whereas the PTI needs to win at least 13 seats to regain its lost crown in Punjab.
Hamza Shehbaz Sharif became chief minister after 25 MPAs of the PTI, 20 directly elected and five elected on reserved seats, voted for him, against the party-line. The hallmark of the by-polls is the presence of many political heavyweights, including seven former provincial ministers, contesting the polls. They include Ajmal Cheema, Nauman Langrial, Faisal Jabona, Malik Asad Khokhar, Malik Asif Bha, Haroon Sultan Bokhari and Saeed Akber Niwani.
A sitting MNA, Syed Zain Qureshi, former MNAs Saifuddin Khosa, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar are contesting by-polls either on the PMLN and the PTI or as independent candidates. Out of the 20 seats, four are in Lahore, the heart of Pakistan and the provincial capital, due to which significance of the elections has increased manifold.
The most discussed contest is the one taking place in Multan, PP-217, where PMLN’s Sheikh Salman Naeem is contesting against Syed Zain Qureshi, son of former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. On the same seat, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was defeated by Sheikh Salman Naeem in 2018 general election, who won the seat as an independent candidate. Sheikh Salman Naeem is also known to have been a choice of Jehangir Khan Tareen and his victory in 2018 deprived Qureshi of becoming the Punjab chief minister. Now Shah Mehmood’s son, Makhdoom Syed Zain Qureshi, who is also a sitting MNA, is contesting from this seat to avenge the defeat of his father.
In PP-272, Muzaffargarh, two people of the same family are contesting against each other. Haroon Sultan Bokhari, former provincial minister, is contesting as an independent candidate against his real brother Syed Basit Sultan Bokhari’s wife. Haroon, three-time winner of the seat, also lost to his mother in 2018 elections from the same constituency when she was the PTI candidate. After voting Hamza in the CM election, the sitting MPA faced disqualification and on the vacant seat, her son Basit Sultan has now fielded his wife and he is contesting against Syed Haroon.
Third major contest is taking place in Dera Ghazi Khan’s PP-288 constituency, where the PTI has fielded Sardar Saifuddin Khosa, son of former governor Punjab Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, and a brother of former CM Punjab Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa. The PMLN has fielded Abdul Qadir Khan Khosa on the seat, which fell vacant after MPA Mohsin Atta Khosa voted for Hamza Shehbaz.
The election on two seats of Lodhran, the district of Jehangir Khan Tareen, once the close confident of Imran Khan, has also caught attention. Pir Amir Iqbal Shah, former MPA of 2002 and 2008, is now the PTI candidate from PP-224, where former prisons minister Punjab Zawar Warraich had been pitched as the PMLN candidate after he defected to Nawaz League and voted for Hamza Shehbaz. Pir Iqbal Shah, father of Amir Iqbal Shah, defeated Ali Tareen in the by-polls held in early 2018, as Jehangir Khan Tareen was disqualified. In 2015, Jehangir Tareen himself got elected after winning the by-polls and this time his group is once again in the by-election.
In PP-228, another seat of Lodhran, Izzat Javaid Khan of the PTI is contesting against Nazeer Ahmad Khan Baloch, former PTI MPA, who voted for Hamza and got disqualified. His father Ahmad Khan Baloch has also served as an MPA.
A very tough contest is taking place in Bhakkar where former provincial minister Saeed Akber Niwani is contesting as the PMLN candidate after being disqualified for voting for Hamza. He has been challenged by Irfanullah Khan Niazi, brother of two former MPAs Najeebullah Khan Niazi and Inamullah Khan Niazi. Both Najeebullah and Inamullah have won the seat in the past for three times, in 1997, 2013 and 2014 by-polls. Niazis defeated Niwanis in the past and this time, a very tough contest is expected again.
In PP-170, Amin Zulqarnain, brother of Aun Chaudhry, once a blue eyed boy of Imran, is the PMLN candidate this time. He voted for Hamza and faced disqualification. Imran has fielded his stalwart and former MNA Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar from this seat. Zaheer has served as an MNA in 2002 and this is the seat which the PTI believes it will win with a decent margin.
Besides, in PP-83, Khushab, Asif Bha, former provincial minister of Shehbaz Sharif, has challenged the PMLN ticket holder Ameer Hyder Sangha. Ameer is a brother of former PTI MPA from this seat Ghulam Rasool Sangha, who defected to the PMLN. The PTI has come up with Malik Hassan Aslam, brother of sitting MNA Umar Aslam. A very tough contest is expected here.
The Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan has also fielded candidates from almost every constituency and in Bahawalnagar, it is also expected that an upset could occur due to the TLP.
The by-polls are going to be held in PP-7, PP-83, PP-90, PP-97, PP-125, PP-127, PP-140, PP-158, PP-167, PP-168, PP-170, PP-202, PP-217, PP-224, PP-228, PP-237, PP-272, PP-273, PP-282 and PP-288 constituencies.
Analysts said that the elections would reflect on the popularity of the two parties, PMLN and PTI, and their narratives.
Meanwhile, the process of delivery of polling materials has started. The material has been handed over to the presiding officers in all the cities where the by-polls are scheduled to be held.
As per the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) report, over 4.5 million [4,596,873] voters would exercise their right to vote. The ECP statistics revealed that 175 candidates are competing in 20 constituencies where 3,140 polling stations have been set up. Also, a total of 1,471 polling booths have been established in all 20 constituencies. Lahore’s all polling stations have been declared sensitive, 122 polling stations across all constituencies declared most sensitive. A control room was established at the ECP Punjab office in Lahore to monitor the voting process, according to official sources.
Rangers will be deployed at polling stations in Lahore, Multan and Bhakkar, while Pakistan Army soldiers will also be deployed at sensitive polling stations. The ECP has issued instructions to the law-enforcement agencies to implement the code of conduct.
The ECP, in a statement, said it has also set up special control rooms at central and provincial levels for monitoring, which will “promptly resolve” election-related complaints.
Also the Punjab government blocked the bridge connecting the province with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ahead of the by-elections, citing security reasons.
DPO Bhakkar said that the bridge had been closed for any kind of traffic at Dajal Checkpost due to security concerns and it would remain closed till polling ends on Sunday. On the other hand, the decision to block the bridge affected the flow of traffic in the area.
Meanwhile, military’s media wing said Saturday that Pakistan Army troops would perform only “Quick Reaction Force” duties in case of any law and order situation arising during polling on Sunday (today).
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said that troops carried out reconnaissance at the most sensitive locations in respective areas as third-tier responders to any law and order situation in the province.
The ISPR said the reconnaissance was carried out in line with the directions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In the light of the political tensions ahead of the by-polls, the government has also decided to deploy Frontier Constabulary (FC) in addition to Rangers personnel.
The government has also decided to impose a ban on the movement of armed workers of any political party in the constituencies where the by-polls are being held.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah warned PTI Chairman Imran Khan against disrupting the peaceful proceedings of by-elections by inciting riots or violence. “The law will take its due course if anyone tries to sabotage the writ of the state by indulging in unlawful activities,” the minister said in a tweet.
