MUHAMMAD SAJID & IDREES CHAUDHRY

JHELUM/DINA - The political landscape of Jhelum and nearby areas is changing in Jhelum like everywhere in Pakistan. New political forces are coming up while the old faces are trying to retain their influence.

Close contests are expected between PML-N and PTI. The PPP has almost disappeared from the scene while Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool (TLYR) which is contesting the first general elections is the new political force. Most of contestants are Jutts or Gujjars.

Imran Khan’s power show flopped in Jhelum. The central PTI leadership was expecting around 20,000 people at the rally in Jhelum city on July 18. But only about 2,000 to 3,000 people turned up. The whole show was mismanaged as people were not told the exact timing of the rally. They were expecting it in the evening, but Imran Khan came early and seemed disappointed over the arrangements. Interestingly, PTI candidate in NA-66, Farrukh Altaf, son of former Punjab governor Ch Altaf Hussain, was not present at the stage during the rally.

There are two National Assembly and three provincial assembly seats in the area. NA-66 is expected to witness a very close contest between Farrukh Altaf of PTI and Ch Nadeem Khadim of PML-N. Ch Muhammad Saqlain, former PTI leader, is contesting as an independent candidate on the election symbol of jeep. He is likely to snatch a lot of PTI votes from the party candidate. Former PML-Q MPA Ch Tasneem Nasir Iqbal is contesting the election on PPP ticket. TLYR has fielded Ch Khalid Tanveer. Singer Jawad Ahmed’s Barabari Party Pakistan has fielded Syed Ali Abbbas as its candidate. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s candidate is Mahboob Ali Mujahid.

Farrukh Altaf is the son of former Punjab governor Ch Altaf Hussain. He is nephew of former federal minister for population Ch Shahbaz Hussain and former Lahore High Court chief justice Iftikhar Hussain. Farrukh owns a lot of agriculture land and a CNG and a petrol filling station. The Jutt community is supports Farrukh.

Ch Nadeem Khadim also owns a lot of agriculture land. He was elected an MPA in 2008, but was later disqualified for having dual nationality of the UK. In the by-election of 2011, his father Ch Khadim Hussain contested as an independent candidate and won the seat. He has the support of his Gujjar community.

Fawad Chaudhry, spokesman of PTI, a candidate in NA-67, will face Nawabzada Matloob Mehdi of PML-N. Ch Saqlain is also contesting from this constituency as an independent candidate. PPP’s candidate Jehangir Mirza is not contesting this time while Nauman Shah of TLYR is in the field. MMA has fielded Muhammad Ziaul Haq from here.

Fawad Chaudhry is not a new candidate in the area. He contested from this constituency in 2013 election on PML-Q ticket. He bagged around 35,000 votes and came third in the electoral race. He hails from Ladhar village near Mangla and is supported by his clan of Jutts. Fawad is a cousin of Farrukh Altaf who is contesting on PTI ticket from NA-66.

Ch Saqlain was twice elected MPA. In 2008, he was elected an MPA as an independent candidate with the support of PML-N as it did not field any candidate. In 2013, he joined PTI and lost the election. He could bag only around 66,000 votes while his opponent won more than 100,000 votes. Ch Saqlain owns a lot of agriculture land.

Nawabzada Matloob is the son of former minister Nawabzada Iqbal Mehdi. He also owns a lot of agricultural land.

At the provincial level, Mehr Muhammad Sial of PML-N is contesting from PP-25. His main opponent is Raja Yawar Kamal Khan of PTI. Both are big landlords. Sial has the support of his Gujjar community. PPP has fielded Mirza Abdul Ghaffar Khan while MMA’s candidate is Dr Qasim Mahmood and TLYR has fielded Syed Irfan Shah. Independent candidate Raja Safeer Akbar, may trigger an upset in this constituency.

In PP-26, both the main contestants are Gujjars and landlords. PTI has fielded Ch Zafar Iqbal while PML-N’s candidate is Ch Lal Hussain.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry is also contesting from PP-27. This election is very crucial to him. If he wins this seat and PTI does well in the Punjab, he may be one of the main contenders for the post of chief minister. PML-N has fielded Nasir Mahmood Lila as its candidate from this constituency while TYLR’s candidate is Muhammad Farooq. Mushtaq Ahmed is also in the run as an independent candidate.