Pride beats prosperity: Horse-trading, infighting mar lead up to elections

Parties lose members over tickets, internal rifts pose bigger threat than opponents.

MUZAFFARABAD:

Pre-elections activities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have gathered momentum with political and religious parties finalising their nominees after the election commission dismissed requests for delaying the polling date.

With the elections closing in, party rifts have deepened as several leaders have rebelled after being refused of party nomination.

Party-splits have exposed the farce of party loyalty, with internal bickering in mainstream political and religious parties having left the leadership in disarray. Internal wrangling has diverted the focus of many from opposite party candidates towards rivals from within their own parties. A war-like situation for some party chiefs and senior leaders has risen, and they may face off eye-to-eye on June 26.

PPP-AJK appears to have the upper hand as the clock counts down to June 26. However, following the merger with former AJK Prime Minister Sultan Mehmood’s People’s Muslim League, the PPP has been facing a tough time nominating party candidates in many constituencies despite the involvement of the presidency of Islamabad.

Already a sitting member of the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, Muhammad Hanif Awan, and a former advisor to the AJK president and senior party leader Sardar Tabarik have rebelled and will contest the election as independent candidates.

To top it off, PPP-AJK has more potential candidates for the premiership than any other party.

Among those eyeing the top job are two former prime ministers, Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry and Sardar Yaqub Khan, sitting and former opposition leaders in the Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Abdul Majeed and Sardar Qamaruz Zaman, Secretary General Chaudhry Lateef Akbar and Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin. Subsequently, each of them appears to be attempting to undermine the others in attempts to plot out a smooth path to the top slot.

PPP-AJK President Chaudhry Abul Majeed and former Prime Minister Sultan Mehmood Choudhry have been trying to defeat each other in Mirpur District, while attempts are also afoot to try and defeated other senior party leaders.

The newly established PML-N is also no to exception as a former minister in Prime Minister Attique’s cabinet Col (retd) Raja Nasim Khan, who is reputed to change loyalties faster than a chameleon changes colour, has rebelled over the party’s decision to back election ally and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Abdul Rasheed Turabi, and has announced that he will contest independently against the PML-N and JI nominee.

The beleaguered ruling Muslim Conference, a breakaway faction of which set up the PML-N, has been facing a severe crises and but has still fielded a candidate against the PML-N head Raja Farooq Haider in Hattain Bala to make sure Haider is defeated.

JI, which had once owned a seat from Bagh, faces wrangling as its former chief Ijaz Afzal has opposed the party’s decision of supporting PPP-AJK chief Khalid Ibrahim in Rawalakot.

The many nomination hopefuls who were dumped by their parties for the elections and have abruptly ended decades long affiliations to contest independently may be bargaining for future positions in the next government, but for the time being they are helping make the AJK elections a very entertaining race.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2011.