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Over 330,000 voters registered in the city's densely populated constituency today get a third opportunity in two years to elect their representative to the National Assembly.
There were 22 candidates in the run for the seat but the real contest was evidently between Malik Shakil Awan of the PML-N which rules Punjab and the party's former star and six-time winner from the constituency, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who fell out of PML-N's grace after he joined the Pervez Musharraf government.
The NA-55 seat fell vacant last year when PML-N's MNA Haji Pervaiz had to resign after a proxy was caught sitting in his place in a college level exam.
Other candidates of significance were Dr Mohammad Kamal of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Ejaz Khan Jazi of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI).
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) did not field any candidate and indeed announced its support to the PML-N candidate “to honour the Charter of Democracy” that it signed with PML-N in 2006.
However, the PML-N leaders alleged that the PPP is covertly supporting Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed because of the tense relationship between the two parties on the issues of the judges' appointment and the National Reconciliation Ordinance.
Despite the usual security concerns, voters were expected to turn up in good numbers at the polling stations in view of the intense mobilization campaign by all the candidates.
Sheikh Rashid had taken a low profile after losing to the PML-N in the February 2008 general elections and stayed out of the by-poll held in June 2008 too but jumped into the latest by-poll hoping that the people of Rawalpindi have “forgiven” him for supporting the military rule of Pervez Musharraf.
In his recent interviews on various TV channels, he suggested that the vote against him in 2008 elections was “a reaction to the Lal Masjid operation”.
The 59-year-old self-proclaimed 'Farzand-i-Pakistan', Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, ran an extensive election campaign, establishing himself as a formidable candidate to his rivals.
His vigorous campaign compelled PML-N supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif and the heads of two other major parties to hold public rallies on the last day of the electioneering to gather support for their party candidate.
Political observers feel that after losing its seat in the recently-held Mansehra by-poll, the PML-N is not taking the NA-55 contest lightly.
At the start of the campaign, Sheikh Rashid mostly talked about the unfinished development projects in the area and later started targeting his opponents, mostly the PML-N, in his speeches.
He also tried to gain sympathies and benefit from a murderous attack on him earlier this month in which three of his bodyguards were killed.
In an intelligent but a risky move, the PML-N instead of putting up a political heavy weight, awarded the party ticket to an ordinary party worker.
Malik Shakil Awan has never contested an election before but he is no stranger to elections either. He used to be a key member of Sheikh Rashid's election campaigns until 2008.
A defeat at the hands of his own old worker would certainly be an embarrassment if not humiliation for the six-time winner Sheikh Rashid from a constituency that has always been a stronghold of the PML-N. NA-55 is among the few constituencies in the country where votes are cast largely on party basis.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed won this seat in all the six elections held between 1988 and 1997 on PML-N ticket, securing each time more than 72,000 votes.
He contested the 2002 general election as an independent candidate from constituencies NA-55 and NA-56 and won both, securing a little over 40,000 votes. His rivals accused him of using Nawaz Sharif's name to win.
That was the only time that PML-N ticket-holders lost elections in the constituencies.
Independent Sheikh Rashid retained the NA-55 seat. Before the by-elections were called for the NA-56 seat vacated by him, he joined the military-backed PML-Q, and his nominee was defeated in the by-elections.
In the February 2008 elections, Sheikh Rashid again contested the polls from both the constituencies, this time on the PML-Q ticket, and met humiliating defeat at the hands of PML-N candidates - Makhdoom Javed Hashmi in NA-55 and Hanif Abbasi in NA-56. His defeat was so complete that he even lost his deposit money in both the constituencies.
Later, Mr Hashmi vacated the NA-55 seat and by-elections were held in June 2008. Mr Ahmed did not contest the elections and Haji Pervez Khan of the PML-N managed to win with a thin margin. The turnout remained only 11 per cent in the June 2008 by-poll as only 39,135 people cast their votes.
In each of the six elections held between 1988 and 2008, the PPP tried a different candidate but none could make inroads in the PML-N's vote bank in this constituency. The average PPP vote in the constituency is stated to be ranging from 30,000 to 40,000.
All the candidates in the latest by-poll have tried to woo the PPP voters by exploiting their sentiments on the issue of the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Unlike his past practice, this time Sheikh Rashid refrained from directly criticising the PPP leadership and targeted his criticism at the PML-N and the Sharif brothers.
For the PML-N and its candidate, the Sheikh was the main target. Only the PTI and the JI candidates directed their criticism at others in the run. The PTI and the JI candidates also talked about international issues and foreign policy matters during their election campaigns.
Before the 2002 general elections, the entire Rawalpindi city was incorporated into a single National Assembly constituency. However, after the authorities redrew the constituencies, the city was divided into two constituencies (NA-55 and NA-56).
The total population of the NA-55 constituency is estimated at 487,937 with 334,269 registered voters, including 150,762 women. It consists of areas where mostly middle class and lower middle class people reside. Most of the famous city bazaars are also situated in the same area.
THE PPP FACTOR
Political observers were keen to know the impact of the PPP vote bank on the outcome of the Wednesday's by-election in NA-55.
Interviews with a number of local PPP activists and leaders revealed the party was divided over the issue of support to the candidates.
Dawn learnt that Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has managed to get the support of a group of the local PPP leaders and activists.
These activists say that they would vote for Mr Ahmed in reaction to the harsh criticism of PPP co-chairman and President Asif Zardari by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders during the recent judicial crisis.
The PPP activists were angry with the tone used by the PML-N leaders while accusing Mr Zardari of keeping ill-gotten money in the foreign banks.
“We did want to support the PML-N in the by-election, but now it seems difficult for us because of the language used by the PML-N leaders, particularly by Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, against our President,” said a PPP activist. He claimed that there was no compulsion on them from the top party leadership to support the PML-N.
When reminded of the same kind of criticism from Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on former PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, he said, Mr Ahmed had apologized for it in his recent meetings with them.
Sources told Dawn that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had even decided to appoint some PPP activists as his political agents.
There was another group of diehard PPP activists who decided to abstain themselves from the whole voting exercise.
“We have always voted for the PPP and can't even think of casting vote to any other party,” said one of the members of this group.
He said it was unthinkable for him to vote at least for Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who had allegedly used foul language against Ms Bhutto during the previous elections.
The PML-N leader, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly recently, had alleged that President Zardari had asked his party workers to support Mr Ahmed in the by-election.
