ABBOTTABAD: The electioneering for Local Government (LG) polls in four tehsils of the Abbottabad district is in full swing and the candidates, as well as political parties, are holding public meetings and running a door-to-door drive to woo the voters.
All eyes are on Abbottabad tehsil mayor slot where all the major political parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan Tehreek-e- insaf ( PTI ), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), Jamaat-e- Islami (JI), Tehrik Labaik Pakistan (TLP), Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (S) and Tehrik-e-Sooba Hazara have fielded candidates. Besides a few independent candidates are striving hard.
Thirteen candidates are contesting for Abbottabad tehsil mayor while 30 candidates for Tehsil chairmen of Havelian, Lora and Lower Tanwal of the district.
As the polling day is coming closer, election campaign in the area is gathering steam where candidates are addressing public gatherings and corner meetings besides door-to-door campaign to convince the voters and inform them about their election manifesto.
Great enthusiasm is being witnessed among young voters.
Billboards and posters printing business is up in KP where printers are earning a substantial revenue due to high orders placed by the candidates.
A former chief minister and governor, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, was seen at corner meetings of PMLN for mustering support for his son, Sardar Shamoon Yar, who is aspiring for the Abbottabad tehsil mayor slot.
KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani is supporting the ruling party’s candidate Sardar Shuja Nabi. He has attended press conferences and corner meetings for the PTI’s nominee.
The speaker was seen at the District Council Hall on Wednesday to distribute Rs14,000/- cash of Ehsas programme to hundreds of deserving women besides educational scholarships to the students.
The speaker also distributed stipends amounting to Rs2880,000/- among 96 prayer leaders at the rate of Rs30,000 each at a ceremony.
The candidates contesting for the tehsil mayor slot have questioned the timing of such distribution and claimed that it was an attempt to manipulate the LG elections.
The ruling PTI has fielded Sardar Shuja Nabi, a grandson of former provincial minister Sardar Ghulam Nabi, for Abbottabad’s mayor while PMLN has fielded former MPA Sardar Shamoon Yar Khan, younger son of Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan.
The PPP has fielded a newcomer Syed Jaffar while the JI has given the ticket Abdul Rizzaque Abbassi due to his long services and loyalty to the party.
The PAT has awarded the party ticket to Naseer Khan, TLP has introduced young Afsar-ur- Rehman, JUIF has launched Muhammad Khalid, while Tehrik-e-Sooba Hazara has fielded Sultanul Arifeen Khan Jadoon, a close associate of Baba Haider Zaman .
The former district nazim Sardar Sher Bahadur Khan is contesting as an independent and organizing public gatherings in every hook and corner while Muhammad Banaras, Sardar Shabir Ahmed and Asad Javed Khan have also been contesting as independent candidates. Thirteen candidates are contesting for Havelian tehsil chairman from where former tehsil nazim Sardar Arsal Pervez of PMLN is facing Aslam Zar Khan Jadoon of PTI.
Arshad Khan of PAT, Sardar Taimur Khan of JUIP, Waheed Gohar Jadoon of JI, Shah Nawaz of Allah-o-Akbar Tehrik, Muhammad Adil Zeb Khan Tanoli of TLP and Sikandar-e-Azam, Shamroz Khan, Atif Sher Khan, Muhammad Rifaqat and Malik Shehzad Mehmood are contesting as independent candidates.
Nine candidates are there for the chairmanship of Lora tehsil according to final list issued by Election Commission of Pakistan.
The aspirants are Rajab Ai Khan Abbasi who had lost to PTI in the provincial assembly election as an independent candidate.
The PMLN has fielded Iftikhar Ahmed Abbasi , Ikram-ul-Haq ( Pakistan Rah-e-Haq), Raja Muhammad Aftab (Pakistan Islamic Republic Party), Rashid Yaqoob ( TLP),Sarmad Abbassi (JUIF), Farukh Shehzad Abbassi ( Allah-O-Akbar Tehrik) while JI has awarded party ticket to old party worker Mubashir Hussain Abbassi. Mazhar Khan is the only independent candidate vying for the tehsil chairman.
Eight candidates are contesting for Lower Tanawal tehsil chairman. A former district naib nazim Junaid Ahmed has been chosen by the PTI for the chairmanship slot while PML(N) has pitched former tehsil nazim Dildar Khan. A former tehsil nazim Muhammad Ishaque Zikraya is contesting as an independent candidate.
Other candidates include Syed Zul Qurnain , Nasir Khan and Abdul Shakoor, , Muhammad Aslim and Muhammad Javed Khan, Independent candidates.
Ishaque Zikraya is receiving support of influential persons in Lower Tanawal and is likely to give a tough fight to ruling party candidate Junaid Ahmed and Dildar Khan of PMLN despite the fact that he himself is contesting independent candidate.
