BAHAWALPUR, Aug 11: The local polls in the district are being actually contested by two main groups— Bahawalpur Ithehad and Sadiq Dost— in addition to MMA’s Al-Khidmat and PPP’s Awam Dost groups, which are looking for allies and chance factor to grab what may fall for them.

The Bahawalpur Ittehad comprises pro-government politicians, including former district nazim Tariq Cheema, former minister and MNA Syed Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi, PML-Q MPAs Dr Muhammed Afza, Shoaib Karim, Advisor to CM Khalid Mahmood Warren, federal parliamentary secretary Malik Ahmed Yar Warren, Punjab government advisor Makhdum Iftikhar Ahmed Gilani in addition to some former MPAs. Most of the Ittehad members eye district nazim slot either for themselves or for their favourites. However, the final nominee is yet to be announced by provincial high-ups.

So far, Tariq Cheema is being tipped as the Ittehad’s candidate for the district nazim’s slot to be filled in September. The Ittehad has fielded its candidates almost in all the 107 union councils in the district.

Mr Cheema is running his campaign on the basis of his contacts with most of the former members of the district council. Mostly, he has fielded former UC nazims and their associates in the polls so that he could again get their support for his election to district nazim slot. During his term in the office, Mr Cheema had generously allocated uplift funds to his supporters and for that reason he felt sure of their support. The same may be the reason that both Punjabi and Seraiki speaking people are among his supporters for the slot. The Sadiq Dost group, led by Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi, is the main rival of the Bahawalpur Ithehad. It also comprises many pro-government heavyweights, like three MNAs, Mr Farooque Azam Malik, Mian Riaz Hussain Peerzada and Makhdum Ali Hassan Gilani (federal parliamentary secretary), besides Punjab Assembly’s former deputy speaker Sahibzada Usman Abbasi and three PML-Q MPAs, Sahibzada Muzamilur Rashid Abbasi, Latif Aaqil and Ahmed Nawaz.

Besides, PML-N’s Saood Majid Chaudhry, and MPA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar were also supporting the Sadiq Dost group nominees at the UC level. However, PML-N’s members like former MNA Aqeelur Rehman, former Punjab parliamentary secretary Chaudhry Samiullah were not active in supporting the group. The group also claims to have the support of former MNA Mumtaz Ahmed Jajja in Yazman Tehsil.

The group is waits for UC results, after which it will announce its candidate for the district nazim. Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi has been empowered by the group to nominate its candidate for the slot.

The Jamaat-i-Islami-backed Al-Khidmat group is contesting the polls from only selected union councils in the district. MMA’s deputy-parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar, along with other JI men was running the group’s campaign in these UCs. Dr Akhtar is moving in a calculated manner, criticizing neither Bahawalpur Ithehad nor the Sadiq Dost group in his campaign. It is being predicted that he will enter into an election alliance at a later stage with any of the two groups for the Bahawalpur Tehsil nazim slot.

The performance of the PPP (parliamentarians) is being termed highly unimpressive as the party could field its candidates only in a few union councils, and failed to mobilize its vote bank in the district.

Although, the PPP’s local as well as central leaders were bitter against Mr Tariq Cheema, who had deserted the party, but so far they had not joined hands with Mr Cheema’s rivals led by Mr Abbasi. The PPP candidates were not being supported by their party in their campaigns.

Although PPP Punjab president Qasim Zia had called on Mr Abbasi and discussed political matters with him during his last visit here, the party was still undecided about entering into an alliance with any of the main groups in the district.

Due to all these reasons the PPP voters are feeling frustrated and resent the role of party high-ups in the local polls.