LAKKI MARWAT: Preparations for the May 30 local body elections are in full swing in the district.

Currently, political parties and independent groups are holding corner meetings and door-to-door campaigns to drum up support for their respective candidates.

They have also formed committees to hold talks with likeminded groups to get support for the upcoming elections.

“We have constituted a team of leading religious scholars to discuss possibilities of electoral alliance with influential Saifullahs, PTI and other political groups,” Mufti Mohammad Khan Haqqani, district chief of JUI-Nazrayati, told Dawn on Monday. He said the electoral alliance with likeminded and major political groups would strengthen the position of candidates backed by JUI-N.

“The candidates of our party will try their lot in the local body elections as we have decided not to let polls field open for others,” he said.

Haqqani said the JUI-N would field ‘honest’ candidates and would sweep elections.

The ANP also claims to fare well in the polls.

It has already asked leaders, workers and sympathisers to canvass for the candidates fielded or supported by them.

Being a member of tripartite alliance at the provincial level, the party will devise a joint election strategy with the PPP and the JUI-F to give a tough time to rivals. “The election-related decisions of tripartite alliance will be implemented at local level in true spirit,” said ANP leader Abdul Qayyum Khan.

He said the ANP was hopeful of winning elections as the party carried out small and mega uplift schemes of over Rs3 billion in the district during its tenure. According to observers, PTI has an edge over other political parties as for preparations for local body elections.

The PTI district chapter has asked workers to submit applications for party tickets.

However, the local leaders are split over the possibility of alliance with Saifullah brothers.

“Most party activists will not accept any electoral alliance with influential Saifullahs,” said Ahmad Nawaz, the PTI district general secretary. He said the party leadership should award tickets to ‘genuine’ workers instead of wealthy and influential people.

”The PTI will sweep the local government polls if genuine party workers are fielded,” he said. He said the presence of party leaders MNA Ameerullah Marwat, Mansoor Kamal Marwat, Tariq Saeed and Saleem Nawaz in the recent meeting was enough to reject rumours of differences in PTI.

According to observers, Saifullahs, Minakhels, Ahmadkhels and Maidadkhels as well as JUI-F have a strong vote bank in the district and that these families and parties always play a vital role in local politics.

They said local body elections related political scenario of the district was not clear as major political parties and influential families had not shown their cards yet.

Observes said the candidates backed by JUI-F MPAs Munawar Khan and Malik Noor Saleem, PTI MNA Ameerullah Khan Marwat and Saifullahs had bright chances of winning elections.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

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