Gymkhana elections: Businessmen and bureaucrats battle again for club control

Panels led by Misbahur Rehman and Ziaur Rehman campaign for votes.

LAHORE:

Businessmen and bureaucrats will battle it out for the annual elections of Lahore Gymkhana’s Committee of Management on January 14 in a repeat of last year’s contest.

Fifty-two members of the elite club filed nomination papers for the elections, with 22 later pulling out and leaving 30 in the field, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The contest is expected to be between groups headed by Mian Misbahur Rehman, a business tycoon, and Ziaur Rehman, a retired bureaucrat. The former has chaired the Committee of Management for two consecutive terms and is seeking a third. Misbah is a successful Arain businessman and most of the members of his panel are also businessmen. Punjab additional chief secretary Nadeem Hassan Asif, Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Dr Zahid Pervez and other serving and retired government officials are backing Zia, a retired civil servant and a Rajput.

Last year, Misbah’s panel won six of the 12 seats on the committee, while Zia’s panel won five. The twelfth seat was won by Qamar Bobby, an independent candidate whose vote won Misbah the committee chair. He is to stand again this year as an independent.

Gymkhana members said that campaigning was in full swing as candidates were arranging dinners and teas to woo candidates. Like in previous years, the candidates’ clan (biradari), profession and address are important.

“The members of this club are from the elite class and they weigh various interests and assess various relationships before choosing. The elections are highly unpredictable,” said a member requesting anonymity. Asked if he was surprised that candidates were winning support on the basis of their clan and where they lived, he said: “It’s not surprising, but it is very unfortunate.”

The club has about 4,000 members eligible to vote but only 2,000 voted last year and the number is expected to remain around the same level this year, another club member said. “A candidate will require around 800 votes to be elected to the Committee of Management,” he said. “I would say about 50 per cent of the voters are neutral and have no affiliations. They might visit the club on polling day and vote for the candidate that they see on that day.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2011.