SWABI: Arch rivals Awami National Party and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) kicked off mass contact campaign for the coming local government elections in their separate public meetings in the district on Tuesday.

The AJIP, headed by Shahram Khan Tarakai who is also agriculture minister in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa coalition government, had started electoral politics from 2008 general elections, and then seriously dented the strong position of the ANP in the district in the last general elections.

ANP leader Mohammad Ishfaq, who was defeated by Mr Shahram’s uncle Mohammad Ali Tarakai in last year’s general election, told Dawn after his address to a gathering in Kalu Khan that they had started corner meetings.

He said that leaders in other areas had also been directed to prepare their supporters for the coming local election.

Mr Ishfaq said that his party leaders saw the coming LG elections as the right opportunity to regain the lost position for the ANP in the district.

Answering a question, he said that they had asked their workers to accelerate their mass contact campaign for the coming election.

In the last district nazim elections Shahram Tarakai became the youngest district nazim in the country after defeating ANP leader Amanullah. “This time we have devised a strategy to avenge the defeat,” said ANP’s former provincial general secretary Tamraiz Khan.

The AJIP leaders have also started their campaign in the district. They told people in a gathering at Karnal Sher Kallay to vote for their party in the LG elections. “AJIP chairman Shahram Khan will speak at different gatherings to activate his supporters for the local elections,” said a party leader.

Other elected leaders of the AJIP would also lure the people to vote for their party, which was confident to win the district nazim election.

“We are confident that we would win the local election alone,” said Biland Iqbal Tarakai, a prominent AJIP leader. However, he said that there doors were open for dialogue with like-minded political parties and groups.

MNA Usman Tarakai told Dawn that the AJIP wanted to work for the progress of the district, but different parties and groups had different objectives and policies, which could pose problems.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders said that they had held some meetings and more gatherings were on the cards in connection with the LG elections.

PML-N district president Iftikhar Ahmad said that the rejuvenation of their party in Swabi district in the general election had made it clear that the PML-N was one of the main political stakeholders in the district. “We will treat the coming LG election as a test case for us,” he said.