PHOTO: ONLINE/ FILE
BATKHELA:
Like many other parts of the country, the political landscape of Malakand Agency seems to be changing quickly. Parties are employing every trick in their arsenal to woo strong candidates in a bid to inhibit the vote bank of their opponents.
Malakand constitutes two provincial assembly seats PK-98 and PK-99 and one National Assembly seat NA-35. The agency, once said to be a mini-Larkana for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is no longer the stronghold it once was for the former ruling party. This is largely because of shifting loyalties.
In 2002, provincial and national seats were increased by former president Pervez Musharraf. As a result, Malakand Protected Area-I and Malakand Protected Area-II were demarcated. However, no census has been conducted since then.
Qaumi Mahaz Party Malakand President Muhammad Ibrar Khan sent an application to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) requesting an additional constituency – PK-100 – be created on the basis of the agency’s increased population.
This, however, could not be done because a census was not carried out and, as a result, no further demarcation could be made. Considering the proximity of the general elections, no such step will be carried out this time as well.
NA-35
In the 2008 general polls, Lal Muhammad Khan contested from a PPP ticket and won the National Assembly seat. He will be contesting the 2013 elections as well.
Major Riaz is also trying to contest from the PPP along with Ghufran Ahad and Mushtaq Ahmad Rai. All these candidates have submitted applications to contest from a PPP ticket for NA-35 but it was given to Lal Muhammad.
The JI, which boycotted the 2008 elections, has chosen Bakhtiar Mani.
Shakeel Khan from the PTI plans to contest from both NA-35 and PK-99. However, he hasn’t received a green signal from the party yet.
Najeem Khan, who earlier quit the ANP and joined PML-N, has applied for a ticket, while at the same time PML-N Batkhela city president Saddam Hussain has also submitted an application for the ticket. Hussain has more chances than Najeem.
PML-N’s parliamentary board is trying to convince Haji Fida Muhammad to contest from the NA seat, although he prefers running for provincial elections.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Fida said after the 18th Amendment all incentives have been transferred to the provinces. He maintained he would be able to serve the people more from a PK seat than from an NA seat.
From the ANP, a ticket for the NA seat has been given to Rahmat Shah Sayel, a poet and tailor by profession. This would be Sayel’s first ever election.
The JUI-F is trying to get Hafiz Maulana Saeed from Shergarh, Mardan to contest for NA-35.. Saeed is the son of former JUI-F worker Maulana Qasim who has a large number of followers in Malakand.
PTI has not yet finalised its candidate.
From the QWP, party president in Saudi Arabia Haji Mohib Gul has applied for the ticket and would most probably be allowed to contest the election.
For the National Assembly seat, JI’s position seems stronger than PPP. JI has spent a lot of time in Malakand and has strived hard to increase its vote bank.
PPP’s former MNA Lal Muhammad Khan has reached the age of retirement and won’t be able to launch a campaign to compete against JI. Incidentally, JI, PML-N and other political parties are cooperating with each other to keep PPP from winning, thus landing a psychological blow to the party.
However, none of the parties have come up with a final decision on seat adjustment. JUI-F and JI are still negotiating in Malakand, while QWP, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, JUI-Samiur Rahman, PPP-Shaheed Bhutto would make an alliance on the local level to split PPP’s voters.
Independent candidates for the NA seat, like those competing for PK seats, are usually a weaker choice.
Malakand Protected area –II (PK-99)
Like PK-98, PK-99 has also witnessed PPP candidates emerge victorious four times. ANP and JI candidates have won once each, while PML has been successful once in the by-polls.
The late Muhammad Hanif Khan, Lal Muhammad Khan, Ghani Muhammad Khan and in 2008 former K-P finance minister Muhammad Humayun Khan, have all contested elections from the PPP and won.
From ANP, Muhammad Shoaib Khan has won from the constituency, while Sharaz Khan has won from JI and General (Retd) Fazle Haq from PML.
PPP has awarded a ticket to provincial general secretary Humayan Khan to contest the 2013 elections as well. Though his opponent Qasim Kasab, an old party activist had been striving hard to get a ticket, his chances to be nominated are slim and not awarded a ticket.
Kasab while talking to The Express Tribune alleged that being the provincial general secretary, Khan will oppose Kasab’s ticket. “I will contest as an independent candidate,” he said, claiming he would bag all the PPP votes this time instead of Khan as he was a true PPP worker and leader.
PPP activist and local leader, Ghani Muhammad Khan, has also applied for the PK-99 ticket. Ghani Muhammad Khan was initially a PPP worker who later joined PPP-Sherpao, then switched to PTI, before joining the PPP again. “If I don’t get the ticket I will not contest as an independent candidate,” he said.
From the ANP, former MPA Muhammad Shoaib Khan has been chosen to contest the elections. The QWP candidate’s position was unclear, however, after the joining of Fakhr-e-Alam this has been settled. Alam quit the PML-N and joined the QWP.
JI district vice chief Sharaz Khan will contest from his party, while JUI-F district General Secretary Maulana Javaid would be awarded a ticket from his party. PML-N’s district general secretary Sajjad Ahmad would most probably contest from his party. In the 2008 elections, he contested from both PK-99 and NA-35 on a PML-N ticket.
Haji Ayub Khan, who contested from the PML-Q previously, has joined the PML-N and has also applied for the party ticket. However, Sajjad was given the ticket.
PPP’s position in PK-99 too is considered to be the strongest. JI, PML-N and ANP workers and other local political leaders are working hard to win over the PPP voters. According to some PPP workers, other parties’ leaders are persuading Qasim Kasab to break up PPP votes.
A local PPP leader revealed that Humayun Khan himself is supporting Kasab. “All PPP workers know that Kasab and his colleagues would not vote for Humayun,” he said, explaining that in order to stop their votes from going to other political parties they have allowed Kasab to contest independently.
“In Malakand’s history, none of the independent candidates have ever secured more than 500 votes,” he said, adding 500 votes going to another party means a death blow to PPP. “Some of the PPP workers are even financially supporting Kasab,” he claimed.
Kasab’s decision to contest independently will split the votes of PPP which could benefit the JI. Muhammad Zada Bhutto has also decided to contest election from PPP-Shaheed Bhutto. It is the first time that a candidate has come forward from this party.
Malakand Protected Area-I (PK-98)
Malakand Protected Area-I has been a PPP stronghold since 1970. Its candidates have been voted into power four consecutive times.
In 2008, PPP District President Syed Muhammad Ali Shah won from the constituency, while Awami National Party’s (ANP) Naik Amal Khan was the runner-up. But the current scenario is not as favourable for the PPP. PPP veteran Jehangir Khan, who has been elected from the same constituency twice, is also applying for a ticket along with Shah to contest the polls.
Shah claimed he has proven to the party he can win the elections, but admitted it may not be possible to issue two tickets for the same constituency. “I will contest the elections as an independent candidate if the PPP does not give me a ticket,” he said. However, the ANP awarded him the ticket but Jehangir decided to contest as an independent.
ANP’s Naik Amal died in 2010 and was succeeded by his son Shafiullah Khan, who is the party’s general secretary in Malakand. Shafiullah has now been awarded the ticket to contest from the same constituency his father once competed for.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has offered a ticket to Haji Esal Khan. Gul Zaman, who earlier parted ways with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) also has a chance. But the PML-N’s parliamentary board has so far failed to convince Haji Fida Muhammad to contest for the National Assembly seat instead of the provincial assembly one. Haji prefers to contest from PK-98 and has opposed the suggestion of letting Zaman contest it.
Both Haji Fida and his brother Haji Nisar Muhammad Khan were earlier members of Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) and later joined PML-N. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has chosen Maulana Jamalud Din to contest from PK-98.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has lost a strong candidate in Haji Muhammad Khan, who recently decided to retire. Haji Muhammad had formerly contested from a PML-N ticket and won, but later decided to join PTI.
Pir Musawir Ghazi and Iftikhar Khan are two potential candidates striving for the party ticket from the PTI now.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) District Chief Sahibzada Khalid Jan, who is also a former senator, will contest on the party’s ticket. As for the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), the most likely candidate seems to be Bashir Bacha.
Though every party has critical choices to make in the prevailing political situation, PPP retains a position of strength followed by the JI. If PPP veteran Jehangir Khan decides to contest elections as an independent candidate, it could divide the party’s vote bank, which would help the JI.
Similarly, if Haji Fida contests on a PML-N ticket, QWP and JUI-F may form an alliance to limit his vote bank. So far, only JI and PTI have expressed willingness to cooperate; all other parties remain undecided over their election strategy.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2013.
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