PML-N walking on a tightrope ahead of RCB polls

Party faces difficult choice in awarding tickets to contenders

RAWALPINDI:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which swept the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) election in 2015, is facing a hard-hitting situation in awarding tickets, due to factionalism, ahead of the September 12 polls.

Two current members of RCB have decided to contest polls as independents while maintaining ties with former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar's group.

In the absence of former senator Chaudhry Tanveer Khan, who had played a crucial role in winning the previous RCB polls for the party, former MNA Malik Ibrahim has started consultations about awarding party tickets.

In the 2015 election for 20 seats of Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards, for Senator Chaudhry Tanveer and Malik Ibrar Ahmed, had persuaded contenders to sit in favour of party-ticket holders and as a result, the party sailed through a landslide victory by winning all seats up for grab.

However, this time around, new delimitation and the emergence of several new faces have created difficulties for the PML-N to award tickets.

In Ward-1, apart from Malik Usman, the current member, Raju Shah, is also in the fray for the party ticket. In Ward-2, in the presence of Shafiq Ahmed, the incumbent member, Shaukat Butt has also emerged as the favourite candidate for the party ticket.

Incumbent members Arshad Qureshi and Malik Gulzar have emerged in Ward-3 for the party ticket.

Read Chaklala, Pindi boards begin nomination process

Similarly, Chaudhry Mahmood Anwar, who had a strong position in the last election and had withdrawn on the request of Senator Chaudhry Tanveer Khan, has not applied for the party ticket and instead fielded his brother Usman Anwar to contest as an independent candidate.

Owning to the alteration of constituencies, two current members of the cantonment board, Raja Jehandad Khan and Rashid Khan, are contenders for PML-N tickets in Ward-4, while Chaudhry Akbar is also keen to get the PML-N ticket. Raja Jehandad Khan, who belongs to the former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's group, also intends to run as an independent candidate in this constituency.

Haji Zafar, the current member of, will also run as an independent candidate as he belongs to the Chaudhry Nisar group.

Apart from Malik Mansoor Afsar, the current member of Ward-6, Shafqat Mahmood is also a candidate on a PML-N ticket in this ward. In Ward-7, Jahangir Butt, the brother of PTI MPA Omar Tanveer Butt, is also a candidate.

In this new ward, the PML-N has to choose one of the three new candidates Hafiz Majid, Muawiyah Hassan and Mustafa Khan for awarding the ticket.

The most interesting situation has arisen in Ward-8 where PML-N leader Malik Fazlur Rehman Sethu has fielded his son Malik Ammar for the N-League ticket against Hafiz Hussain Ahmed Malik, who had been elected to the cantonment board for four consecutive terms.

In Ward-9, incumbent member Shahid Mughal has nominated his close relative Ehtesham Mughal on the N-League ticket.

In Ward-10, incumbent Malik Sajid Mahmood and Shabir Mughal are strong contenders for the PML-N ticket.

Political observers say that if the PML-N did not come up with a well-deliberated strategy in awarding tickets and the election campaign, the rival PTI could take full advantage of the factionalism in the party and win the election.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2021.