LAHORE - Punjab will be the major electoral battleground for upcoming cantonment boards’ local government polls as the key political players in the province will face each other on 124 general seats in 21 cantonment boards of the province, while the main competitors in the race are most likely to be from PTI and PML-N.
Sindh will elect public representatives in 34 wards through direct election on party basis in seven cantonment boards on April 25. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will hold elections in 32 wards of 11 cantonment boards while Balochistan has nine wards in 3 cantonment boards.
The cantonment boards’ local polls which turned party-based from non-party-based on March 30 after the Lahore High Court’s directions on various petitions suddenly accelerated the momentum of the election campaign that earlier had silent support of the political parties because of the restrictions of Section 61 of Cantonment Ordinance 2002 and Section 14 of the Local Government (Elections) Ordinance 2002.
Though PPP, PML-Q, JI and political heavyweights in 21 cantonment boards will also play their part but, the ground political situation hints at strong possibilities of real political fight between PTI and PML-N with upsets on a few seats.
PTI and PML-N senior leaders, when contacted, said they would take solo flights with the exception of a few seats in Punjab where they lack complete strength to grab the election.
Punjab with 21 cantonment boards carries in its wings: Rawalpindi Cantonment Board with 10 wards, Chaklala 10, Wah 10, Taxila 2, Murree 2, Attock 2, Sanjwal 2, Kamra 2, Jhelum 2, Mangla 2, Lahore 10, Walton 10, Sargodha 10, Shorkot 5, Gujranwala 10, Kharian 2, Sialkot 5, Okara 5, Multan 10, Bahawalpur 3 and Faisalabad 10.
The facts of 2013 general elections and by-elections afterwards show that PML-N, PTI and Awami Muslim League chief were elected from the limits of Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Wah, Taxila and Attock cantonment boards.
In case of Sanjwal, Kamra, Jhelum, Mangla, Lahore, Walton, Sargodha, Shorkot, Gujranwala, Kharian, Sialkot, Okara, Multan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad and Murree, again PML-N and PTI candidates grabbed various seats in general and by-elections.
PTI and PML-N, if succeed in managing their voters in an organised manner under a well-planned election campaign for the battle in 124 wards of 21 cantonment boards, they are likely to grab the major chunk with a few upsets.
However, PPP which also holds Bhutto’s strong pockets in the cantonment boards could make some upsets if its leadership makes a serious plan in the near future to grab some share in the territory of real establishment of the state. JI has also small support pockets in various cantonment boards while PML-Q which enjoyed the fruits of district governments seems to be not taking April 25 local polls seriously.
Sindh with seven cantonment boards has Pano Aqil with 2 wards, Hyderabad 10, Manora 2, Clifton 10, Karachi, 5, Malir 3 and Korangi Creek with 2 wards.
The real electoral fight is expected among MQM, PPP and ANP in Karachi while PTI could make upset at some places if it makes a coalition with JI and Sunni Tehreek. PTI could grab ground in Clifton and Manora with proper management.
Hyderabad is likely to be a battleground between MQM and PPP, while Malir and Korangi Creek could bring a triangular fight among MQM, PPP and ANP. Pano Aqil is expected to be the ground of PPP.
Khyber Pukhtunkhawa with 11 cantonment boards will elect representatives for 32 wards. The cantonment boards are: Peshawar with 5 wards, Nowshera 4, Risalpur 3, Cherat 2, Mardan 2, Kohat 3, Bannu 2, DI Khan 2, Abbotabad 5, Havelian 2 and Murree Gallis 2.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the two coalition partners of the provincial government, PTI and JI will join hands in the cantonment wards where they deem it necessary. The political parties which could pose threat to the ruling alliance are JUI-F and PML-N if they join hands with Aftab Sherpao’s Qaumi Watan Party and other political bigwigs.
Lastly, Balochistan carries three cantonment boards to elect public representatives on 9 wards which include Zhob with 2 wards, Loralai 2 and Quetta 5. Nationalist parties, JUI-F and independent candidates, close to the establishment, are likely to grab the major share. PML-N which is also part of the provincial ruling coalition would get some share by seat adjustment with leading nationalist parties. PTI has no chance in the elections of Cantonment Boards of Balochistan.
Meanwhile, PTI senior leader Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid told this correspondent on Wednesday that no party ticket had been awarded for the local government elections of two zones of the provincial capital’s cantonment boards –Walton Cantonment Board and Lahore Cantonment Board.
He said the names of the candidates for the two zones announced by City President Aleem Khan carries no weight as several aspirants have filed papers, but final candidates would be those submitting party tickets to the election authorities during the process of scrutiny.
Mehmood said the party chairman had formed a review committee under the chair of Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi to look into the complaints regarding the award of party tickets.
The authorities of two cantonment boards told this scribe that nearly 270 nomination papers were issued for 10 wards of Walton on the closing date of March 31, while 143 nomination papers were received on Wednesday, the closing date for submission of forms.
Similarly, around 200 nomination papers were issued for Lahore Cantonment Board and 116 received back. The scrutiny of the papers would be carried out from April 2 to April 4. Appeals will be filed on April 6 and disposed of on April 9.
Nomination papers will be allowed to be withdrawn till April 10 and final list will be published on April 11. Polling will be held on April 25 and the results will be announced on April 28.