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| August 18, 2005 | Thursday | Rajab 12, 1426 |
ANP, PPP comeback likely in NWFP
PESHAWAR, Aug 17: The Awami National Party and the People’s Party Parliamentarians may reclaim some of the ground they had lost to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in the last general election when 12 districts in the NWFP elect representatives to the local bodies on Thursday.
The ANP, which suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the MMA in Peshawar Valley in the general elections, is likely to stage a comeback in the local polls.
Analysts attribute ANP’s imminent resurgence to the recent shuffle in the party hierarchy that saw the ouster of Begum Nasim Wali Khan and improved organizational work by the party’s rank and file.
Among the 92 union councils in Peshawar, the analysts say, the ANP is likely to win in at least 29, followed by the PPP in 18. The Jamaat-i-Islami, which had done quite well in the last local bodies’ elections, is likely to get nazims’ posts in 14 union councils.
Independents may play the deciding role in the election for the post of district nazim.
The PPP had entered into an alliance with the Jamaat and won the office of district nazim in 2001. The JI had got the deputy nazim’s post.
It will be interesting to see if the PPP’s Awam Dost Group enters into an agreement again with the JI and deny the Watan Dost Group of the ANP the chance to grab the district.
Nowshera, with 48 union councils, is the base of Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad. Asif Luqman Qazi, the JI leader’s eldest son, is vying for the office of district nazim. But the JI does not look like winning in more than eight union councils. The JI’s failure may be embarrassing for the party chief who had won a parliament seat in the last general elections from Nowshera.
The PPP (Sherpao) may also be in for a shock in the district which was ruled by its nazim Pervez Khattak, though its tally of union councils may still be larger than that of the JI and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, which have fielded separate candidates instead of contesting the elections under the banner of the Muttahida Millat-i-Amal.
Both the ANP and the PPP may stage a comeback in the district. The Awam Dost Group is likely to get more union councils this time, followed closely by the ANP.
Charsadda is home to the leadership of the ANP and the PPP-S. The ANP had suffered badly in the last elections in what was once its stronghold. The Progressive Group backed by the PPP-S is expected to do well there by winning in at least 17 of the 49 union councils. But the JUI may emerge as the balancing factor by grabbing at least 13 union councils.
The JUI had boycotted the last local bodies’ elections. The party contesting under the banner of the Muttahida Group may gain ground in the ANP’s support areas. The ANP is likely to finish third in the district by winning in at least nine union councils.
The Pakistan Muslim League, whose nominee Naseer Khan, son of veteran leader Nisar Mohammad Khan, was the district nazim, is nowhere to be seen on the political horizon as far as the local bodies’ elections are concerned.
The ANP is again expected to do well in Mardan, the second largest district of the province, followed closely by the PPP and the JUI. The district has 75 union councils. Both the parties are expected to win in 16 to 18 union councils, each. The last district nazim was supported by the ANP.
Swabi, with 55 union councils, was an ANP stronghold until the MMA emerged as a strong force in the district in the general elections. But there are signs that the ANP may win at least 20 union councils to emerge as the largest group in the district. The remaining union councils may go to the JUI, the PPP, the JI, The PML and the PML (Nawaz).
In Buner, with 27 union councils, the JI and the ANP are likely to stake claims to at least 13 and seven union councils, respectively.
Haripur may see an interesting fight between the two factions of the PML. Of the 45 union councils, the PML is likely to win in 11 with the PML-N finishing second.
The MMA may continue to hold sway in the southern region of the province, by adding at least three more districts to its sphere of influence. In Kohat, both the JUI and the JI are expected to do well, so as in Karak and Tank.
Bannu may swing the JUI’s way thanks to massive development work done by the native Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, who had had an uneasy relationship with an independent district nazim.
The election results may also be of some satisfaction to JUI leader Fazlur Rehman in Dera Ismail Khan, with his party expected to do well in a district hitherto ruled by the PPP’s Latifullah Alizai.
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