RAWALPINDI: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is rolling up its sleeves to enter the fray for the upcoming local bodies election in cantonment areas, but there is confusion among party workers over who will lead the party’s local chapter in the polls.

The selection of candidates for the LG polls, insiders say, will settle the question of who controls the party in Rawalpindi; Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan or the newly-elected Senator Chaudhry Tanveer.

In the past, Mr Khan has looked after party affairs at the local level, but following Chaudhry Tanveer’s elevation to the Senate, he managed to get the attention of a sizeable number of workers at the local level.

“After facing defeat in the two main constituencies, NA-55 and NA-56, which also consist of two large cantonment areas, in 2013 elections and leaders’ non-cooperation with local workers, Chaudhry Nisar lost a great deal of influence among party workers at the local level. Now, the same people are pinning their hopes on Chaudhry Tanveer,” a senior party leader told Dawn.

He said the workers were of the view that Chaudhry Tanveer, who has been twice elected vice president of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board in the 1994 and 1998 cantonment board elections, would be able to handle local affairs far better.

Chaudhry Tanveer meeting with rivals to gather support; differing accounts of how candidates will be chosen confuse party workers

He said that more cracks would appear in the party if the workers were not accommodated in these elections. He said that the party was already divided into three groups and this would provide opponents an opportunity to benefit from the disarray.

“Chaudhry Tanveer has started ground work in this regard, fielding candidates and forming his own group. He also met MNA Malik Abrar on Saturday to chalk out a plan for the selection of the candidates and to convince the party to support them,” he said.

He said that it was an unusual meeting, because Malik Abrar is a known supporter of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and his constituency NA-54 consists of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board area.

However, former MNA Malik Shakeel Awan told Dawn that Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was expected to start meetings with the party workers soon and would select the names of the candidates for the election in the cantonments of Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Wah and Murree.

He said that the party would field candidates and PML-N candidates would be elected vice presidents of the cantonment boards. He claimed that the party was not divided, but were working effectively under the leadership of their party chief, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Former MNA Hanif Abbasi, who is the third party in the three-way tussle for dominance in Rawalpindi, said that the party had formed a committee to look after the affairs of local governments.

“I am the only member from Rawalpindi division in the committee, which is led by Hamza Shahbaz. Other members include Rana Sanaullah, Rana Mashood and others. The committee will finalise the names of the candidates,” he said.

He said that a meeting of the committee would be held soon, adding that local leaders could recommend names of candidates, but the final decision would be made after Hamza Shahbaz and Shahbaz Sharif approve their names.

Published in Dawn March 22nd , 2015

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