GUJRAT: The main rivals in electoral battle of Punjab - PML-N and PTI - have been gripped by indecisiveness regarding the selection of party candidates on most of the constituencies in Jhelum district as the parties have been facing revolt by their strong groups in two national and three provincial assembly seats.

The PML-N has so far only announced its candidate for one seat out of total five (two NA and three PA) of the district that is NA-67 (Pindaden Khan-Khewra-Jalalpur Sharif) where party’s former MNA Nawabzada Matloob Mehdi has been declared as a candidate and on rest of the seats candidates are yet to be officially finalised by the party.

Similarly, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf too announced its ticket only on NA-67 as Fawad Chaudhry is a candidate whereas the party has also come up with its candidates on two out of three PA seats.

However, NA-66 (Jhelum city, Dina and Sohawa) areas of the district have become a bone of contention for both the parties.

The PML-N had earlier announced ex-MPA Nadeem Khadim Gurmala, the scion of ex-MNA Khadim Gurmala, for NA-66 but the party’s list of candidates did not carry the name of Mr. Gurmala since there was an intense opposition by a strong group comprising two former MPAs of the party Chaudhary Saeed Iqbal and Sheikh Tanveer Ahmed who were demanding the ticket for Bilal Azhar Kiyani whereas another ex-MPA Mehr Fayaz from Dina had also demanded ticket for NA seat.

Same is the case with the PTI [in NA-66] where Fawad Chaudhry’s cousin and former Jhelum district Nazim Chaudhary Farrukh Altaf, the scion of former Punjab governor Chaudhry Altaf Hussain, had initially been given nod by the party to be a candidate.

But the party’s candidate in the 2013 elections from that seat Chaudhry Saqlain (ex-PML-N MPA) who had secured some 63,000 votes and remained runner-up, has strongly been opposing the decision due to which the PTI did not include Mr. Altaf’s name in the officially declared list released on June 24.

PTI had earlier given Mr. Saqlain the PP-25 (Sohawa) ticket which he declined to accept and announced contest from both NA seats of the district against the party candidates.

Fawad and his cousin Farrukh had been the PML-Q’s candidates in the 2013 polls from both NA seats of Jhelum district and both remained third on the victory stand and could not cross the 40,000 vote figure; however local analysts say the ballots bagged by them previously had been their personal vote bank which can be multiplied with that of the PTI votes and PTI can stage a good show on July 25.

At the same time the analysts say in case of PTI’s disgruntled group’s candidate Mr. Saqlain’s contesting independently, the PTI may face a setback to its bid to overpower Jhelum district that has been considered as a ‘strong fort’ of the PML-N for the last three decades.

On the other hand, the PTI has nominated Raja Yawar Kamal and Chaudhary Zafar Iqbal as its candidates from PP-25 (Sohawa-Dina) and PP-26 (Jhelum city), respectively whereas PP-27 is yet to be decided as Fawad Chaudhry himself wants to contest on this seat too; however the PML-Q has been insisting on seat adjustment formula for its nominee Abid Jutana who was the runner-up in the last general elections.

Two former PML-N MPAs Nazar Gondal and Syed Shamas Haider have also announced quitting the PML-N from PP-27 and according to local sources both have assured Fawad of their unconditional support.

The PML-N is facing difficulties in choosing the PA candidates in Jhelum; however former MPAs Meher Fayaz and Chaudhry Laal Khan are said to be the likely candidates for PP-25 and PP-26 while Nasir Lilla can be a contender for PP-27. The party is yet to make formal announcement in this regard.

The PML-N’s disgruntled group is opposing the award of two tickets to Gurmala family since ex-MPA Laal Khan, a candidate for PP-26, is a maternal uncle of party’s potential candidate for NA-66 Nadeem Gurmala.

The district politics is divided in Jutt, Rajput, Gujjar and Kashmiri clans who are traditional rivals here as the Gurmala family represents the Gujjars, Fawad and Farrukh family belongs to Jutts and Nawabzada Iqbal Mehdi hails from the Rajput clan.

The analysts predict a tough competition between these traditional rivals unlike the last two general elections when the PML-N had clinched all the seats.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2018