GUJRAT: For the first time in the history of local government politics in Gujrat, the PPP could not field any panel in 12 urban union councils of the city’s municipal corporation, whereas in total 117 rural UCs of the district council, the party could pitch only 15 to 20 panels and that too through seat adjustment at the local level for the polls to be held on Oct 31.

The party’s local workers cite apathetic attitude and ambiguous policies of their district leadership as major reason for such a dismal show, despite the fact that the party still has a good number of potential candidates for the local elections. But, given the existing scenario, some of them have either forged an alliance with other parties or turned dormant.

However, the PPP has fielded a good number of candidates in the 24 wards of the Lalamusa Municipal Committee (MC), where one of them has got elected unopposed due to rejection of his rival’s nomination papers. Around a dozen PPP candidates have also filed their nomination papers in all 24 wards of Jalalpur Jattan MC.

Though a few PPP candidates are in the race for rural UCs of Kharian, the party could field only four to five panels in at least 65 rural UCs of Gujrat tehsil out of which only a single panel is in the run in the area falling under NA-104. The rural and urban areas of Gujrat tehsil have been the part of the National Assembly constituencies of NA-104 and NA-105 where PPP stalwarts Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar have not shown any interest in fielding party candidates.

Sources say the local PPP cadres even failed to fix meetings of ticket seekers with Ahmed Mukhtar during the last month because he cancelled his twice his visit to Gujrat at the eleventh hour.

PPP district president Samina Pagganwala, a former MNA, also failed to nominate any panel in Gujrat city from where his family had contested at least six general elections since 1977. As Mr Mukhtar’s group has been contesting local government elections from Gujrat city for the last four decades, his dormancy this time has further frustrated the party workers, an insider told Dawn.

Since Nawabzada family has joined the PML-N, Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull had been supporting its politics locally, he added.

Mr Gull says he will back any group opposing the Chaudharys’ of PML-Q and that is why despite being in the PPP folds, he still supports Nawabzada group for being arch rivals of the Chaudharys.

Party workers are of the view that local elections were a good opportunity for the PPP to mobilise its cadres regardless of the results but the apathy of leadership has spoiled it.

Published in Dawn, September 30th , 2015

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