RAWALPINDI: As many as 3,125,669 voters, including 1,647,507 male and 1,478,162 female, will use their right to vote on Wednesday to elect their representatives on six national and 15 provincial assembly seats.

PPP candidates, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, AML President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan are in the fray in Rawalpindi constituencies, but the competition will mainly be between PML-N and PTI.

NA-59 is the only constituency where three strong candidates – the PML-N disgruntled leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, PML-N’s Raja Qamarul Islam and PTI’s Ghulam Sarwar Khan — are in the arena.

3,125,669 voters to elect their representatives on six national and 15 provincial assembly seats

The PML-N candidate, Raja Qamarul Islam, is in jail in Saaf Pani reference of NAB and his 12-year-old son is running his campaign.

Though it is a traditional seat of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the contest is going to be interesting as it will be between PML-N versus PML-N’s former minister and PTI’s candidate.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is three-time winner from this seat. Though the PTI candidate is a new entrant, the urban areas like Chaklala Scheme-III and army housing schemes like Askari-1 to 10 support Imran Khan.

In NA-61, it is a contest between PML-N and PTI.

PML-N candidate and former MNA Malik Abrar is facing PTI’s Amir Kiani, who is relatively new in the electoral politics but is giving tough time to two-time winner Malik Abrar due to popularity of the party in the area.

NA-54 consists of Peshawar Road from Golra Mor to Tench Bhatta including area around General Headquarters (GHQ), Lalazar, Westridge, Misrial Road and adjoining areas.

In the 2013 elections, Malik Abrar of PML-N defeated PPP’s Zamurad Khan and PTI’s Hina Manzoor.

Though MMA’s candidate is present in the electoral fray, it is the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan that is expected to bag the religious vote in the area.

A tough competition is expected between PTI-supported Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and PML-N Daniyal Chaudhry in NA-62.

Former information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed is six-time winner from this seat while Daniyal Chaudhry, son of PML-N senator Chaudhry Tanvir, is young and has the quality to convince people to support him.

After the jail sentence to Hanif Abbasi, the sympathy wave in favour of PML-N has changed the situation in the city areas. PPP’s Sumaira Gul is contesting the election but she is nowhere near the PML-N and AML candidates in terms of support.

In the previous elections, Sheikh Rashid defeated PML-N Malik Shakil Awan in this constituency.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2018