Wah cantt - One to one contest is expected between two political arch rivals, former minister for interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice President Ghulam Sarwar Khan for one national assembly and two provincial assembly constituencies in this part of the Potohar region NA-63 Rawalpindi IV, PP-19 (Taxila) and PP-20 (Wah) where the political battleground has always been the centre of attraction in national politics due to the presence of two political heavyweights.
Although other candidates from different parties are also in the run for the upcoming polls but they seem to be irrelevant as electioneering in this constituency has reached at the final and decisive stage where the marathon of public meetings and door to door contacts with voters by the candidates and their front line leaders present the true picture of how fierce the battle will be on the polling day set by the election commission of Pakistan as July 25.
The lion, which was in strong and commanding position before the announcement of general elections, retrieved to the third position due to three major reasons i.e. former minister for interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s decision to contest elections as an independent candidate, the party’s defensive position after the verdict in the Avenfield case and the awarding of party tickets to politically weak candidates.
Book and Arrow also failed to attract the masses due to their candidate’s lack of public contact and failure in organizing a major power show.
Although TLP which is contesting the upcoming polls with the symbol of crane has attracted large crowds in its public meetings but it is not in a position to win. Book has organized its meetings on the pretext of Dars e Quran during holy month of Ramzan but afterwards it restricted its electioneering to door to door contacts and meeting of religious circles in different mosques and seminaries. Arrow has not organized a mega power show or public meeting in national as well as provincial assembly constituencies of Taxila and Wah Cantt so far despite the fact that elections are around the corner.
Both Jeep and bat entered a fierce round of election battle as the upcoming elections now present a do-or-die situation for both political arch rivals, former minister for interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and PTI Vice President Ghulam Sarwar Khan as the final result will set their political future in the local politics of the Margalla valley.
The two powerful archrivals have an interesting election rivalry despite the fact that both began their political career from the same platform but later parted ways and were locked in an intense neck to neck electoral battle since the last decade.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who began his political career with the PPP, joined the PML-Q after winning the 2002 elections as an independent candidate.
He is now the standard bearer of Imran Khan in Taxila city. Against him stands Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, former interior minister and one of the PML-N stalwarts. Chaudhry Nisar has won this seat in 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2008, elections.
Sarwar only managed to defeat his archrival in 2002 and 2013 elections.
Vote difference between the two had varied between 10,000 and 20,000.
However, with the rise of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf popularity and a solid vote bank in the constituency, Ghulam Sarwar’s camp seems to be confident about the final result.
Despite saying goodbye to PML-N political battleship, Chaudhry Nisar presently enjoys a strong political position and has a good following among major families in the area.
Mega projects especially the Wah General Hospital were completed by him and that could further boost his vote bank.
On the other hand, Sarwar represents the Khattar clan in Pind Nousheri, which is very influential in Taxila and Chakri.
The results of the elections can be hard to predict as family and tribal affiliations are playing an important role in the rural areas but the previous election history and the prevailing conditions are largely favouring Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.