TAXILA: The decision to field weaker candidates against former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will likely divide the PML-N’s vote bank in NA-63 and give an edge to opponents, particularly Chaudhry Nisar’s political rival Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

Ghulam Sarwar and his team previously beat Chaudhry Nisar in two provincial assembly and on National Assembly seats in this constituency.

The PML-N has nominated Rawalpindi district president Sardar Mumtaz Khan for NA-63 (Rawalpindi IV), as well as former municipal committee vice chairman Zeeshan Butt for PP-19 (Taxila) and Raja Sheraz Asghar (PP-20), all of whom are minor political figures at the national level.

Also read: PML-N becomes a divided house in Taxila

In his two decades in politics, Sardar Mumtaz Khan has never participated in electioneering. He was appointed Rawalpindi district president by Chaudhry Nisar in recognition of his services and loyalty to him.

Zeeshan Butt, the PP-19 candidate, has had a 34-year long family relationship with Chaudhry Nisar. He was elected for the first time in last year’s local government elections.

He was nominated to his post in the municipal committee by Chaudhry Nisar, and is known for his aggressive politics during sessions of the house.

Raja Sheraz Asghar, PML-N’s candidate for PP-20, is a local businessman who has never held public office and does not have any significant community service background.

Pundits say the PML-N has fielded weak candidates in these elections against veterans such as Chaudhry Nisar and Ghulam Sarwar.

They say this would not only lead to a weak performance on election day, but would also dent the party’s vote bank, benefiting rival candidates.

Nisar’s public meeting

Local PML-N leader Sheikh Zeeshan Saeed has said that Chaudhry Nisar’s public meeting, scheduled for June 28 on Taxila, would prove to be a game changer in local politics.

Speaking to the press on Monday, he said Chaudhry Nisar drew crowds to his last public meeting in NA-59 despite running as an independent, and his first formal public meeting for the upcoming elections would be a show of power.

He also claimed that allies of PTI’s Ghulam Sarwar are likely to announce that they will be joining Chaudhry Nisar.

Mr Saeed said the PTI and PML-N had nominated candidates who have failed to deliver in the constituency, and the public would reject them come polling day because of their poor performance in the public sector.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2018