GUJAR KHAN  -  Gujar Khan constituen­cies of NA-52, PP-8 and PP-9 are going to prove a tense arena between PPP, PML-N, TLP and PTI due to strenuous campaigning of the Speaker of the Na­tional Assembly Raja Per­vez Ashraf, ex-prime min­ister and his opponents. 

Raja Pervez Ashraf at NA-52 and his son Raja Khurram Pervez Ashraf at PP-8 have been run­ning every nook and corner of the constitu­ency while his other fam­ily members Raja Jawaid Ashraf and young­er son Barrister Shah­rukh Raja also left no stone unturned to comb the stretches on Gujar Khan tehsil and new­ly included union coun­cils of Rawalpindi tehsil, day and night. His oppo­nents Raja Jawaid Ikhlas of PML-N and Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz for­mer provincial minister of TLP; and Raja Tariq Aziz Bhatti of PTI also remained chasing him. The wheeling and deal­ing, joining and breaking of groups and baradaris (clans) in this sub urban tehsil dominated by Ra­jpoots, Gujjars, Aryens, Syeds and Mughals re­mained focus on social media and every moment such the posts on Face­book flashed and rever­berated in the WhatsApp groups of party support­ers rendering the anx­ious voters to remain on the vigil about the win­ners and losers with the addition of every new village groups joining jal­sa of their favourite can­didate or the opponent party. 

During this war on the social media, the social media activists and cam­eramen (cell phone pho­tographers) remained en­gaged with every party on patrol on ‘special packag­es’ making the seasoned newsmen realize that gone are the days when print media reporters used to rule the roost in opinion making through their ‘slanted’ stories and ‘biased’ analyses. 

Raja Pervez Ashraf for­mer prime minister and sitting speaker of the Na­tional Assembly has the edge to enjoying a per­sonality cult due to his unprecedented projects of sui gas supply, road in­frastructure, establish­ment of Potohar campus of the Punjab university, Passport office and Nad­ra offices here. 

Raja jawaid Ikhlas (PML-N)former district nazim Rawalpindi and many times MPA and one time MNA (after defeat­ing Raja Pervez Ashraf in 2013, after his premier­ship) banks on his net­working at union coun­cils because he himself had been a union council chairman of Mohra Noori, before venturing on MPA slot at the band wagon of IJI during Gen. Zia ul Haq era of early 80s. 

Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz, another colleague of Raja Jawaid Ikhlas during IJI days and also many times MPA and for­mer provincial minister used to claim close asso­ciation with Mian Nawaz Sharif, had to loose his spirits after denial of ticket either for himself and his son, joined TLP as MNA candidate. 

Raja Tariq Aziz Bhat­ti advocate, the son of Raja Abdul Aziz Bhat­ti, former justice and PPP MNA of ZAB era, is also candidate of PTI. He is a flamboyant orator but his younger brother Raja Sahuket Aziz Baht­ti of PML-N is running for PP-9 slot for his par­ty. The PTI had given and retracted NA ticket two times to Farrakh Sayal and Tariq Bhatti, much to the annoyance of their respective supporters.

Desertion of Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz to PML-N and joining TLP candidature has creat­ed dent to PML-N sup­port base. Chaudhry Mu­hammad Riaz, being an Aryen and also based in Gujar Khan city, has al­ways been reckoned as a guru of electioneering and wheeling and deal­ing. Some other aspir­ants for the party tick­et of PML-N in PP-9 had also expressed their an­guish and later some an­nounced to revive their pledges to Raja Jawaid Ikhlas but this disgrun­tled-ness had given lot of space to Raja Pervez Ashraf to ‘fish in trou­bled waters’. Howev­er, Raja Jawaid Ikhlas is likely to give Raja Pervez Ashraf a good chase. PTI support base is currently hidden and its candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Azeem, during the 2018 elections had bagged over 90000 votes. He was also former tehsil nazim and much root­ed in local politics as compared to Raja Tariq Aziz Bahtti. He is almost neutral in this election but his native areas of Thathi and Jabbar (the eastern regions of tehsil along Mangla Dam) are dominantly supporting Raja Pervez Ashraf. On the other end, the west end union councils pre­viously part of Ch. Nis­ar Ali Khan’s constituen­cy are also dominantly supporting Raja Per­vez Ashraf over a nod by their Chaudhry. 

At PP-8 Raja Khurram Pervez Ashraf is con­fronting Chaudhry If­tikhar Ahmed Warsi, ex MPA of PML-N and Chaudhry Jawaid Kau­sar ex MPA of PTI. While Raja Ismail Tariq Kiani alias Sheela of TLP is also contending for this seat. 

Ch. Iftikhar Ahmed Warsi and Ch. Jawaid kausar both hail from the same town of Bew­al and the same family. When ever they contest against each other both loose due to overlapping of their support base in the eastern areas. The TLP candidate was ear­lier supporter of Ch. Ift­ikhar Warsi and this time his joining TLP is also af­fecting PML-N vote bank. 

Under prevailing situ­ation Raja Khurram Per­vez Ashraf is likely to have tough competition with either PTI or TLP candidate. At PP-9 Raja Shauket Aziz Bhatti, for­mer PML-N MPA, is to confront Chaudhry Sar­fraz Khan of PPP, Raja Muneer Ahmed Bhatti of PTI and Raja Babar Kara­mat of TLP. 

Raja Shauket Aziz Bhatti of PML-N is likely to have a tough contest with Mr Sarfraz. 

The political pundits predict victory of Raja Pervez Asharf on the ba­sis of his dynamic agenda of development. At PP-8 and PP-9 tough contests between PPP, PML-N,TLP and apparently passive voters of PTI can lead to marginal victories of any of them.

M. FASEEH UL HASSAN

–The writer is a free­lance contributor