DERA GHAZI KHAN City News

By-election to PP-240
Voters upset by PML-N’s reluctance to electioneering
From Hasnain Qaisrani
DERA GHAZI KHAN: After the disqualification of former MPA Shamoona Ambreen Qaisrani on the orders of the Lahore High Court, the PML-N has failed to field a suitable candidate having solid political background for the by-election to PP-240.
Though the PML-N has fielded Sardar Mumtaz Ahmed Bhutto Qaisrani who feels himself lucky after being elevated from union council nazim, it is his hard luck that he is facing the powerful independent candidate Khawaja Muhammad Dawood Sulemani. It is evident from the fact that the PML-N has not yet planned his electioneering and he has a little time left for the by-election. The selection of a suitable candidate was a very critical issue for the party after the nomination papers of Shamoona Ambreen were accepted by the returning officer and later rejected by the LHC. The situation put the PML-N and Sardar Mir Badshah Khan Qaisrani into dire straits.
Owing to the engagement of the federal as well as provincial governments in the establishment of military courts to combat terrorism, the PML-N seems to be least interested for the upcoming by-election and no proper homework could be done so far. The voters are yet confused about the PML-N candidate as the campaign could not gear up.
On the other hand, Sardar Imam Bakhash Qaisrani, an independent candidate, succeeded in getting the support of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) that has considerable votes and has stronghold in certain remote areas of the rural constituency. The JUI-F local chapter has also announced that Maulana Fazalur Rehman will address a big public gathering in the favour of his candidate on January 12. In the 2013 general elections, Sardar Mir Badshah Khan Qaisrani was elected MPA on the ticket of JUI-F and it was time when he was willing to contest for both PP-240 and NA-171 on the PML-N ticket, but his request was turned down.
The division of votes in the Qaisrani tribe would give an edge to the independent contestant Khawaja Muhammad Dawood Sulemani who is being supported by the various local groups, but not a political party. PML-N MNA from NA-171 Sardar Muhammad Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa is yet silent over the by-election as he neither announced support nor he took part in the electioneering, which would also benefit Khawaja Dawood.
The indecisive role of another local bigwig former MNA Khawaja Shiraz Mehmood is surprising for his group and the voters. It is being speculated that he may support Khawaja Muhammad Dawood, ignoring his political differences in the past. Pundits are of the view that it would be very hard for the PML-N to win its seat if the party leadership and its local chapter MPs did not involve to the level it needs now within minimum possible time left. “Keeping in view the local political grouping and the affiliation rather than the PML-N factor, it is a great challenge for political survival of Qaisrani’s group in future,” they maintained.