NA-121 (Lahore-IV) comprises poor and middle-class localities where the wealthy son of a retired general is trying to satiate his newfound desire for politicking.

Faez Rahim of PML-Z, the son of former Joints Chiefs of the Staff Committee chairman Gen Rahimuddin, is trying to generate support for himself using his wealth and relations to the handlers of nation’s fate. However, the main hurdle in his way is that the Arain biradari backing the PML-QA’s candidate Mian Mohammad Jahangir forms a majority in this constituency.

Mr Rahim also happens to be the son-in-law of former Wapda chairman Lt-Gen Zahid Ali Akbar. His biodata does not end here. The MBA from Berkeley is the brother-in-law of Ijazul Haq and Ghazi Akhtar Khan, who is the elder brother of Humayun Akhtar Khan. Punjab Governor Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool was a military secretary to his father when the latter was a corps commander in Quetta and then the governor of Balochistan.

Dr Anwarul Haq, the younger son of Gen Ziaul Haq, is contesting election to a Punjab Assembly seat in the constituency (PP-150) to support Mr Rahim.

Besides Mian Jahangir, other serious candidates pitched against Mr Rahim are PPP’s Aurangez Burki and MMA’s Farid Ahmad Piracha. There is no candidate of the PML-N because of the adjustments with Jamaat-i-Islami.

Mr Burki, Mian Jehangir and Mr Rahim are contesting the elections for the first time while Mr Piracha, a former MPA and a senior member of the JI, is a seasoned politician in his own right.

NA-121 is spread over a long strip between Bund Road and Multan Road and has 256,000 registered voters — 140,000 men and 116,000 women. It covers Chauburji, Shamnagar, Rajgarh, National Town, Sanda, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Chauburji Park, Tauhid Park, Saidpur, Sabzazaar, Mohajirabad, Sodiwal, Dholanwal, Sherakot, Bakarmandi, Nonarian, Zaman Park, Rustam Park, Yateemkhana, Babu Sabu, Awan Town and Hassan Town. Important biradaris here include Arains, Maliks, Bhattis, Ansaris, Awans, Kashmiris and Sheikhs.

It has resulted from a division of the former NA-98. It overlaps two Punjab Assembly constituencies, PP-149 and PP-150.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad of the PPP won this seat in 1970 by defeating Jamaat-i-Islami’s Mian Tufail. He again claimed it in 1977 by defeating Qaumi Ittehad’s Habibullah Saadi. Mian Mohammad Asif returned from here in the non-party elections in 1985 and IJI’s Mian Usman in the 1988 elections. PML-N’s Mian Mohammad Munir bagged the seat in the 1990, 1993 and 1997 elections and is still popular among the voters.

The crime rate here is higher than in any other constituency of Lahore. It is a highly polluted area because of the heavy traffic and furnace factories and the Bakar Mandi on Bund Road.

Sui Gas was provided by the first Benazir government to some of the localities whereas roads were constructed when Mian Shahbaz Sharif was the chief minister.

Politically, this constituency was a PML-N stronghold in the 90s. However, Mian Munir’s defection to the PML-QA has also carried away the overwhelming Arain Biradari’s support. It was perhaps due to this reason that the PML-N did not field a candidate here, compromising with Jamaat-i-Islami’s Farid Piracha who appeared to have little chances of winning this seat.

According to the people in the constituency, Mian Munir and his protege Mian Jehangir have been cautious in criticising Mian Nawaz Sharif to avoid opposition of his sympathizers. They are treading carefully and playing on the biradari card only.

Their other strong points are that the kutcha abadis across the Bund Road are supporting them. The Habibullah Bhatti family, whose brother was killed in a police encounter during the rule of second Nawaz government, are also supporting the PML-QA. The Pathan localities are ignoring other candidates to seek immediate benefits. Most union council Nazims, too, belong to the PML-QA and their voters are likely to support Mian Jehangir.

PPP’s Mr Burki has little chances of winning because his party is not much popular in the constituency. The fact that the PML-N voters would be supporting the MMA candidate here has further marred his chances.

As far as Mr Piracha is concerned, he is considered to be a weak candidate even by some leaders of his own party. The JI normally has a fixed vote-bank in every constituency, which appears to be marginal in NA-121. The PML-N support may not work as most of it has now shifted to Mian Munir’s camp because of the biradari bond.

Except for the element of biradari and a few diehards, the general response to the candidates has been as lukewarm here as in other constituencies of Lahore. This makes it hard to believe that the PPP and MMA candidates would be able to take the general voters to polling stations. Therefore, the Arain biradari is likely to have a field day on October 10.