GUJRAT: The PML N and PTI may win one seat each in two National Assembly constituencies of Mandi Bahauddin district as they go neck-and-neck on four Punjab Assembly seats.

Though the PPP, which remained very strong in the area from 1970 till 2008, has fielded its candidates on all seats of the district but none of them is said to be a front-runner whereas candidates of MMA and TLP (Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan) are also in the run on some seats of the district.

The PML-N has been in big trouble on NA-85 (old NA-108) (Mandi Bahauddin-Phalia) where it had to change the candidate after veteran politician Mumtaz Ahmed Tarar withdrew his candidature and recommended his nephew for the ticket.

However, the party leadership pitched a newcomer, Mushahid Raza of Chillanwala, on this seat.

The PTI has nominated Haji Imtiaz Ahmed, brother of former MNA Ijaz Chaudhry, whereas the PPP has fielded former MPA from Phalia Asif Basheer Bhagat, who had secured some 35,000 votes in the by-polls of 2015. Riaz Farooq Sahi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is also in the run.

In NA-85, the local analysts give an edge to the PTI over the PML-N since the latter has fielded a new candidate unlike the PTI whose aspirant Haji Imtiaz has been an active part of the politics since 2001 and remained naib district nazim and Tehsil Nazim of Mandi Bahauddin in 2001 and 2005, respectively.

Of the two PA seats falling under NA-85, the PML-N has fielded former provincial minister Hameeda Waheedudin on PP-65 (Mandi Bahauddin city) against the PTI’s Arshad Mehmood Gondal and PPP nominated Azmatullah Marth. An interesting contest is being expected between PML N and PTI as Hameeda has managed to win the support of her rival ex-MPA Dewan Mushtaq group whereas MMA has also announced to support her on this seat.

In PP-66 (Phalia), the PTI somehow managed to accommodate former PPP MNA Tariq Tarrar Raika as a candidate for PP-66 (Phalia) who had contested the 2015 by-polls as a PTI candidate but lost at the hands of Mumtaz Tarrar of PML-N.

In the constituency, the PML-N has again trusted its former MPA Tariq Yaqoob Rizvi, brother of former provincial minister he late Pir Binyamin Rizvi while the PPP’s Nawaz Tarar and the MMA’s Ehtesham Faraz Mangat are also in the run. A tough competition between the PTI and PML-N is expected here.

In NA-86 (old NA-109) Malakwal-Qadirabad, it will be an interesting contest between two traditional rivals and bigwigs of Mandi Bahauddin politics — the PTI’s Nazar Muhammad Gondal and former MNA Nasir Iqbal Bosal of the PML-N.

The analysts say the PML-N’s Nasir Bosal is having a slight edge over his rival Nazar Gondal since Bosal has managed to strike deals with independent candidates on two PA seats falling under his constituency and the PML-Q-backed independent candidate, Sajid Ahmed Bhatti, is said to have made an adjustment with the Bosals since both the Bosals and Bhatti group had been the local allies since long.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2018