Rickshaw driver puts political allegiance before profit

Many people wearing party badges bear the brunt of the unyielding rider

LAHORE:

While the PML-N’s supporters were happy over the possible victory of their candidate Shaista Pervez Malik, a rickshaw driver, who claimed to be a big supporter of Prime Minister Imran Khan, denied PML-N voters ride to the polling stations.

The matter surfaced when an argument took place between the rickshaw driver, Muhammad Ramzan, and three passengers, including an old man, who wanted to go to a polling station at Bagrrian Green Town to cast their votes. Ramzan, noticing “lion badges” on their shirts, denied them a ride to their destination, saying, “I’m not available for any voter of the PML-N today.”

The would-be passengers, shocked as they were, wondered why the rickshaw driver was not offering them a ride. The elderly man even personally requested him to take them to the polling station, saying that he could not walk long distances, but Ramzan didn’t budge. Finally, they managed to find another rickshaw and headed for the polling station. When Muhammad Ramzan was asked why he denied the elderly man and his companions a ride to the polling station, he said he had also denied two other passengers in the morning a ride to their destination as they also were supporters of the PML-N.

When asked why he was so angry with the PML-N, he said he was not angry with them. Nevertheless, he would not take their supporters to the polling stations as he was dejected with this election because there was no PTI contestant in the race. When asked why he had been upset with the PML-N voters since it was not their fault if there had not been a PTI contestant in the election, he said there was no enthusiasm in the field. There was no charm in the elections in the absence of the rival party, PTI, he said.

So in protest against the absence of their contestant, he would not take PML-N’s voters to the polling station. When asked what he would earn if he continued denying rides to the people, he said he was only denying rides to the PML-N voters rather than other passengers. NA-133 has been the stronghold of the PML-N since 2008 when Naseer Bhutta won; followed by Waheed Alam in 2013; and late Pervez Malik in 2018. Now late Malik’s wife, Shaista Pervez Malik, was contesting the by-polls.