Neck-and-neck fight expected in Pindi’s NA-56

The National Assembly (NA) 56 constituency of Rawalpindi city is anxiously awaiting a neck-and-neck electoral contest among 31 candidates including political big guns Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Hanif Abbasi and Shehryar Rizwan on February 8.

The constituency, labelled as the Lal Haeli constituency and is a hub of commercial activities, will have Sheikh Rashid of the AML, Hanif Abbasi of the PML-N, Shehryar Riaz of [the PTI], Sameera Gull of the PPP, Sajjad Akbar Abbasi of the TLP, Imran Shafiq of the JI, Sharjeel Mir of the IPP, and 21 independent candidates in the electoral fray.

Since 1985 Sheikh Rashid has completed a double hat-trick of electoral wins from this constituency, but this time the situation doesn’t look favourable for the former federal minister who is incarcerated in Adiala Jail and will contest the polls while remaining in jail.

The NA-56 has 523,683 voters, of which 272,459 are male voters and 251,274 are female voters. A total of 326 polling stations including 156 for men, 155 for women, and 15 joint polling stations have been established. As many as 31 polling stations have been declared sensitive. There are 780 polling booths out of which 398 are for men and 382 for women. A total of 371 Presiding Officers (POs), 1.880 Assistant Presiding Officers (AOs), and 940 Polling Officers (POs) have been appointed.

Major communities in the constituency are Sheikh, Chaudhary, Malik, Kashmiri, Khan, Rajgan, and Sadat, while religious voters are in good numbers. Locals don’t seem enthusiastic about political activities as corner meetings by candidates are seen without active participation, while residential and commercial properties lack displays of flags and banners. Even motorists and motorcyclists are not displaying flags of their favourite parties.

No large convoys from commercial centres participated in public rallies of the PML-N and the PPP at Liaquat Bagh. Business leaders and leading traders in the markets are seen avoiding physical contact with the candidates.

The AML chief will face the toughest election this time as he “lacks active political support”. His nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafique, who is contesting elections from NA-57, is burned with electoral campaigns of himself and Sheikh Rashid.

This is the first time the PML-N candidates have filed cases against their opponents during the campaign. PPP’s Samira Gill, who got her bail suspended in 2018, is trying her luck again.

PTI-backed Shehryar Riaz, who was elected MPA on the PML-N’s seat, quit the Nawaz-led party around seven years ago. He also organised PTI rallies in 2018, but this time he is contesting elections as an independent candidate because of a symbol issue. Though the JI and the TLP also have a reasonable vote bank in the constituency.

For the first time, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran president Sharjeel Mir is contesting on the ticket of the IPP, but his voters’ circle is limited to a few commercial markets.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2024.