GUJRAT: A tough competition is expected between the nominees of PML-Q and PML-N for the slot of Gujrat Municipal Corporation mayor as the polling is scheduled for April 17 (Wednesday).

Qazi Qamar Zeeshan, the local government assistant director, will be the presiding officer and the polling will take place at the Jinnah Hall.

Mian Pervez Akhtar Pagganwala of the PML Q and Tahir Mahmood Maanda of the PML N are contesting for the mayor slot that was declared vacant by the Election Commission of Pakistan around a month ago in accordance with the verdict of Supreme Court declaring PML-N’s Haji Nasir Mehmood as disqualified for holding the offices of Gujrat MC mayor and union council chairman in December 2018.

Though the house originally comprised 21 members, the disqualification of Haji Nasir and resigning of another PML-N member Yousaf Gull as a UC chairman last year, to contest the July 25 general elections from Gujrat city’s Punjab Assembly seat as an independent candidate, had reduced the number to 19.

Opposition members allege pressure

In the house, ‘N’ apparently enjoys support of 15 members, whereas ‘Q’ has three and the PTI a single member.

However, the analysts believe that the PML-Q can still stage an upset in the election as another PML-N UC chairman, Zafar Iqbal Rehmani, called on the Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi in Lahore the other day. Ashraf Rehania of PML-N had already announced joining the ‘Q’ in October the last.

Moreover, sources in the PML-Q said the party leadership had already garnered support of the required numbers as some PML-N members were not satisfied with the policies of the local party leaders, besides having reservations over the selection of the candidate for mayor slot.

They said the ‘Q’ had fielded Pervez Pagganwala, who was an experienced candidate for the slot and knew how the local bodies system worked.

On the other hand, N’s Gujrat secretary general and ex-mayor Haji Nasir was equally confident of the victory of his nominee and claimed that he still enjoyed the support of at least 12 members of the house and another had been in “close contact” with the party leaders.

He said the members who had left the party in critical situation should first resign from their seats to join another party since they had been elected on the ‘N’ ticket in October 2015 local bodies elections.

He also expressed his reservations over the appointment of son of the Punjab Assembly speaker’s personal secretary in Gujrat as the presiding officer for the poll which, he said, made the whole polling process dubious even before it started.

It is learnt that some of the ‘N’ members have also complained to the party leadership that they were being pressurised by the district administration and police to vote for the ‘Q’ candidate.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019