MARDAN, May 6: Ostensibly, it will not be that easy for two-time Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl MNA from NA-10, Mardan Maulana Mohammad Qasim to win the seat this time around.

The reason is that Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, which had boycotted the 2008 elections, have fielded candidates for the constituency in the May 11 elections.

There are 12 people in the running in the constituency.

Noted among them are Maulana Mohammad Qasim of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Farooq Akram Khan of Awami National Party, Maulana Sultan Mohammad of JI, Nawabzada Abdul Qadir Khan of Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarian, Ali Mohammad Khan of PTI, Naseem Mohammad Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Fayyaz Khan of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Pakistan.

The constituency comprising 22 union councils has 321,660 registered voters.

In the 2002 elections, Maulana Mohammad Qasim won the NA-10 seat on the ticket of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal by obtaining 69,726 votes against the runner-up,

Rahimdad Khan of PPPP, who got 14,541 votes.

He retained the seat in the 2008 elections as a JUI-F candidate by securing 29,179 votes against the runner-up, Nawabzada Abdul Qadir Khan of PPPP, who bagged 23,089 votes.

In the 2002 elections, Maulana Qasim won the elections due to the support of all religious groups, while in the 2008 elections, retained the seat mainly because JI and PTI boycotted the electoral exercise.

This time around, Maulana Qasim is facing a changed battlefield as JI, PTI and JUP, which had boycotted the last elections, have fielded candidates for the May 11 contest.

Also, many in the constituency are annoyed with the ex-MNA, who, they say, avoided them during the last five years.

Bakhtullah Jan, a local literary figure, said the people voted for Maulana Qasim twice for solution to their problems but the ex-MNA failed to deliver.

Haq Nawaz Khan, a local businessman, said PPPP, ANP and JI were likely to put up a good fight against JUI-F in the constituency on May 11.