SUKKUR, Sept 30: With the advent of the Oct polls, the election campaigns of different candidates are gathering steam for the two National Assembly and four Sindh Assembly seats of Sukkur district.
Apart from other activities like speaking at corner meetings, the candidates are also seeking the support of different communities, to ensure that they will get the votes of their members.
The major candidates from NA-198 (Sukkur city, some parts of Rohri) are Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah of the People’s Party Parliamentarians; PPP dissident Abdul Qadir Ghumro, who has the Pakistan Muslim League-F ticket, and Sakhi Abdul Razzaq Khoso of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
The other candidates in this constituency include Maulana Asad Thanvi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Asghar Chohan of the PPP-SB and Syed Sardar Ali Shah of the Tehrik-i-Insaf.
However the real contest will be among Shah and Ghumro who also enjoys the tactical support of the PML-Q and the backing of the angry elements of the PPP.
The PML-N candidate, Khwaja Jalil Ahmed, here on Monday night, announced his withdrawal from the contest in the favour of Ghumro.
The MQM has a considerable vote bank in Sukkur city but it is expected that the party will ask its candidate to withdraw in favour of the PML-F candidate at the eleventh hour.
According to reports, talks for the seat adjustment had been held between PML-F chief Pir Pagaro and the MQM leadership and only the announcement of Khoso’s withdrawal is awaited.
In the past three elections, the PPP’s Shah had got elected on this seat but this time, it is believed, Ghumro, will give him a tough time.
The candidates of the MMA, PPP-SB and the other parties are being viewed as vote spoilers. However the MMA votes can help Shah or Ghumro to turn the table on his rival if the alliance of the religious parties lends a hand to any one of them.
On NA-199 (Pano Aqil and half of Rohri taluka), Abdul Mujib Pirzada of the PPP is facing Taj Mohammad Shaikh of the Sindh Democratic Alliance.
Pirzada is confronting a lot of difficulties in mustering support of his voters as he is considered to be a non-local person and a new comer in the PPP fold.
His family originally belongs to Sukkur but he is settled in Karachi. Besides, he has, till late, been associated with the breakaway faction of the PPP, the Shaheed Bhutto group.
According to local observers, the chances of the victory of his rival candidate of the SDA are bright.
On PS-1 (Sukkur city), Dr Nasrullah Baloch of the PPP and Mehmood Yousufi of the MQM are pitched against each other and there would be a close contest between them.
The new entrants, Altaf Hussain Mughal of the PML-N, Aamir Mughal of the PML-Q and Abdul Mateen Bandhani of the MMA, are among the less powerful candidates for this seat.
On PS-2 (some parts of Pano Aqil and Rohri talukas) the position of Abdul Qadir Ghumro is seen to be stronger than his major opponent, Haji Anwer Maher of the PPP.
The latter has appeared among the contestants due to the rejection of the nomination papers of Khursheed Shah for this seat.
The other less influential aspirants from this constituency include Nisar Ahmed Jatoi of the MQM.
A neck and neck fight is expected between the PPP’s Jam Saifullah Dharejo and Haji Khan Chachar of the SDA on PS-3 (Pano Aqil)
On PS-4 (Pano Aqil), the SDA’s Mohammad Ali Shaikh is confronting the PPP’s Javed Hussain Shah.
A tough contest is expected between the two but it is generally believed that Shaikh has some edge on his rival due to the influence of his elder brother, Taj Mohammad Shaikh, in the area.