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CHAKWAL, Oct 5: Councillors, nazims and naib nazims of the lower tiers of the local government will be going to elect the district nazim on Thursday chastened by the “bullying and buying” tactics of the main contenders.
Voters were allegedly being offered higher and higher bids by the rival groups till the last hours before the polling begins.
Unlike its strategy in the past of winning over the nazims and their naibs, the government-backed Sardar Group was said to have concentrated this time more on the councillors who form a decisive chunk of the electoral college comprising 68 union councils in the district.
Keen to be recognized at any forum, the low-income councillors were thought to fall easily for monetary offers. Many believe the election is the only time they can throw their weight around as after the nazim is elected they can’t hope to be anything more than rubber stamps.
The main buyers of the voters allegedly belonged to the class building cement factories in the area despite opposition from the locals. People of the area alleged that the management of one factory had promised employment to six nominees of a voter who votes for its candidate.
A recruiting agent who recently came under swindling charges allegedly financed the campaign of PML dissident Lt-Gen (retd) Majeed Malik. It was an open secret that the agent had announced a Korean visa for each voter joining him or his group though some days back the offer was against two votes.
A lady general councillor Azra Begum, an ally of Gen Malik from Dandot, was allegedly offered Rs700,000 by the rival group through a middleman. When she refused the offer, her husband was said to have been picked by the police and detained at the police station.
Former councillor Malik Khalid of union council Noor Pur claimed that his just-elected councillor wife was similarly offered Rs300,000 for deserting the PML senior vice-president.
“Yes, such things are reported to be happening but our people would not yield,” said MNA Faiz Tamman in a guarded tone, when contacted by Dawn regarding situation in Talagang.
Shafique Cheema, the president of the trading community and a candidate running for tehsil slot of Choa Saidan Shah, also alleged buying and bullying of councillors by influential candidates.
Some claimed they were delivered threats of business hardships if they did not vote as directed.
FACTS AND FIGURES: As many as 835 councillors and union council nazims are set to vote for their candidates here on Thursday.
Here are the key facts about the candidates and their vision that will set the tone for the general elections.
MAJEED MALIK: A retired army general, 85, who after holding three ministerial portfolios has decided to step down to the district office amidst his draining popularity.
Despite being a senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League, his party nominated Sardar Abbas for the top slot. He had joined PML about four years back.
His agenda for the next four years is as abstract as his services over the past 25 years. If in the past he used to comfort his critics with the idea that he was the man assigned with the task to win laurels for the country, at present his slogan is availability of justice to the people that had been denied to them by the Sardars during the past four years.
SARDAR GHULAM ABBAS: He is the government-backed candidate. He had joined politics in 1985 and since then his critics have viewed his career full of political mistakes. He drew severe criticism for misuse of funds worth billion of rupees. He vows to continue his projects in health, education and agriculture sector.
MAIN CHALLENGES: People in hundreds of areas still lack access to drinking water and many of Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centres (RHCs) are without doctors. The primary schools in far-off villages are either closed or facing shortage of science teachers. The civic bodies in Talagang and Chakwal are in a poor state.
Rawalpindi-Chakwal road needs to be widened to minimise accidents, which have claimed many lives.
