PP-7 constituency: PML-N, PTI set to clash in Taxila by-polls today

Seat had fallen vacant after MPA Siddique Khan passed away

RAWALPINDI: Taxila is set to witness a tough battle between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  (PTI)  and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in by-polls for the vacant PP-7, Rawalpindi-VII seat today (Monday).

The Election Commission has finalised all arrangements for the elections. Polling scheduled to start at 8:00 am and is expected to continue till 5:00pm without any break.

The ECP  has set up 167 polling stations for 195,714 registered voters in the district with 21 polling stations declared as ‘very sensitive’ and 38 as ‘sensitive’. As many as 2,000 police personnel will provide security for the polls.



The Punjab Assembly seat, which falls within the National Assembly constituency of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, fell vacant after death of PTI MPA,  Siddique Khan, the younger brother of PTI MNA,  Ghulam Sarwar.

Today’s elections are also being seen as a battle between Sarwar and Nisar. The latter had lost the seat to Siddique in the 2013 general elections by a narrow margin of just 774 votes. It remains to be seen whether the PML-N can regain the seat this time round.

PTI has  handed a ticket to Ammar, Siddique’s son. His main opponent will be PML-N’s Haji Umer Farooq, a veteran party worker and an ardent supporter of Nisar.

The third main contender for the seat is Pakistan Peoples Party’s Chaudhry Kamran Aslam. However, a victory for Aslam is unlikely.

Voters in the provincial constituency usually vote either for the political parties or as per clan or community relations. Historically, the PML-N has dominated Taxila, but the trend was overturned in 2013 when PTI stunned Nisar with a shock win. Since the victory, Sarwar and his supporters have entrenched themselves in Taxila winning the support of many dominant clans in the area.

Observers now expect Ammar, who hails from the influential Khattar clan, to win the seat based on sympathy votes for his late father and support garnered by the party.

As if that was not enough to ensure victory, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had addressed a public rally in Taxila last week to help tip the scales against the PML-N.

On the other hand, the PML-N candidate has a definite edge since he hails from the ruling party. Usually such by-elections are won by the party which is
in power.

Further, Haji Dildar, a long-time PML-N supporter with a large vote bank in Taxila, has thrown his weight behind Farooq. In 2013, Dildar had opted to support an independent candidate instead of Nisar.

The interior minister is expected to cast his vote at a government school in Chakri village.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2016.