HARIPUR: The potential candidates of different political parties seem to have reluctantly accepted the new delimitation of constituencies.

Though the Election Commission of Pakistan’s move has divided voters and their grouping of clans and likeminded people in urban areas, these candidates have begun wooing voters in the union councils merged with the constituencies, where they will contest the next elections.

“They (ECP) have divided our voters in an unjustifiable manner,” said PML-N’s Qazi Mohammad Asad, whose native village and main three union councils of the city have been annexed with Ghazi tehsil.

He however said he would contest elections from his native village instead of moving the court against the fresh constituency delimitation.

“I believe that litigation will be a mere waste of time. I will focus on my campaign to win election,” he told Dawn.

PPP’s Ejaz Ali Durrani, who had earlier contested elections in the city area, also complained about the constituency delimitation declaring it unwise and illogical.

He said though the merger of urban union councils with Ghazi tehsil was unacceptable, he would contest elections in PK-42 instead of PK-40.

PTI MPA from Ghazi tehsil Faisal Zaman also regretted changes in his constituency but said he would continue serving his voters whether they were from urban areas or remote villages.

Hamid Shah of the PML-Q alleged that the ruling PML-N had committed pre-poll rigging by unjustifiably delimiting Haripur.

Gohar Nawaz, who is MPA from the previous PK-51 constituency, and uncle of PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz, said the constituency changes was a conspiracy hatched by rivals against his family.

He said his native area, Khalabat Township, had been merged with most areas of the erstwhile PK-50 constituency, but the valuable political services of his family would help him retain the seat by defeating PTI’s Akbar Ayub, MPA from the erstwhile PK-50.

Advocate Javed Qureshi declared the new delimitation unnatural and unwise and demanded its review in a way that urban voters are not divided.

The preliminary delimitation suggested by the ECP has reduced the number of provincial assembly constituencies in the district from four to three and changed their numbering from PK-49, PK-50, PK-51 and PK-52 to PK-40 Haripur-I, PK-41 Haripur-II and PK-42 Haripur-III. However, the district’s only National Assembly constituency is unchanged for its numbering, which has changed from NA-19 to NA-17.

In the new delimitation, the ECP has formed PK-40 by annexing some union councils from formerly PK-51 and PK-50 like Khalabat Township, which was previously in PK-51 and a stronghold of Gohar Nawaz family, while PK-41 consists of villages like Dedan, Serae Gadai, Chamba Pind, Mung and Kotnajibullah and entire Khanpur tehsil.

The constituency has seen minor changes.

However, PK-42 has undergone a significant change as Darwesh, three urban union councils of Haripur and Sikandarpur have been attached with Ghazi tehsil’s Panian Bhera and Kangra areas, which were previously a stronghold of Gohar Nawaz family.

The fresh constituency delimitation has taken all potential election candidates off-guard as they didn’t realise it will take them away from the areas where they have invested a lot to please voters.

Though reluctantly, they have already begun electioneering both in new and old constituency areas.

Some, however, feel the ECP’s move has increased their chance to win elections.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2018