Daily Times

NA-155

Multan: The battle lines in the constituency are drawn between Seraiki speaking residents of the old Multan city and those who have migrated over the last few decades. Language and ethnic identity will remain a major influence on voting decisions in this constituency which is entirely urban in its composition, and has the highest literacy rate in the city.

Another influential factor will be the religious divide. The constituency is dotted with religious seminaries of almost every major sect.

The number of registered voters is 485810, including 260780 male and 225030 female voters.

In 2013, Javed Hashmi of the PTI defeated Sheikh Mohammad Tariq Rasheed of PML-N (old NA-149). After leaving PTI in 2014, Javed Hashmi re-joined PML-N in December 2017. When the former Prime Minister and head of PML-N came to Multan in May this year, Javed Hashmi reportedly requested him for the party’s ticket, which was not granted so he withdrew his nomination papers from NA-155 and NA-158. The veteran politician announced that he would support the PML-N candidate in the area.

In previous elections, the constituency has mostly seen two-way fights between PPP and PML-N candidates. A close aide of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Amir Dogar, who fought on the PPP ticket in 2013 and stood third after Javed Hashmi and Sheikh Tariq Rasheed, has left the PPP after the death of his father Malik Salahuddin Dogar. The senior Dogar had a 50-year long association with PPP, and he was the first senator from Multan during the premiership of Gillani.

Malik Amir Dogar joined PTI in 2015 and is now contesting in NA-155 on the ticket of PTI. He defeated Hashmi in the 2014 by-election by a margin of more than 10,000 votes. PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was the main supporter of Dogar on the matter of the party ticket, while Jahangir Tareen opposed him on grounds that NAB inquiries were underway against him.

The discussions in corner meetings of PTI revolve around the message of party chairman Imran Khan. The party candidate and his campaign team solicits votes in the name of Imran Khan. PTI’s Zaheer-ud-din Alizai, a nawab from a feudal family, is contesting on one of the three provincial assembly seats in NA-155, PP-214. From PP-215 and PP-213, Javed Akhtar Ansari and Waseem Khan Badozai are contesting polls, respectively.

Shahid Mahmood Khan, who joined PTI from PML-N, is also supporting the party candidate in PP-214 even though he was among the aspirants for the ticket. Due to his links in the civil society, he has managed to secure the support of several professional associations for the PTI panel.

Shahid Mahmood Khan’s brother Malik Adnan Dogar is the president of the Multan High Court Bar Association. PTI’s Amir Dogar also enjoys the support of most madaris. Many religious circles including Anjuman-e-Haideria have extended support to the PTI panel.

Because of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, this area once was considered a strong hold of PML-N, but when he left the party, the N League gave its ticket of Sheikh Tariq Rasheed, former MNA and MPA. Tariq Rasheed is PML-N’s general secretary in Multan and is currently serving as the chairman of the Zakat Committee. Rasheed, a businessman, has a vote bank in the old city quarters.

Dr. Khalid Khakwani, former district president of PTI, had resigned from the party after he was denied ticket for PP-216, despite many efforts of Jahangir Tareen. Dr. Khakwani is now contesting polls as an independent candidate on the symbol of “pot” from NA-155. Dr. Khakwani enjoys the support of PPP since the party has not fielded any candidate here.

On the other hand, PML-N has fielded Haji Ahsannudin Qursehi, against PTI’s Nadeem Qureshi on PP-216. Munawwar Ahsan Qureshi, son of Ahsannduddin Qureshi, is the deputy mayor of Multan. PML-N youth wing president Zahid Adnan Guddu, as an independent candidate, is contesting against Haji Ahsanuddin from the same constituency. Haji Ahsannuddin is a popular candidate in old Multan city, particularly in the area “Hannu ka Chajja”. From PP-214, Malik Asif Rafique Rajwana, son of the Punjab governor, is contesting polls on the ticket of PML-N. PML-N candidates banking on the sympathy wave to after their leader former PM Nawaz Sharif’s imprisonment. In their corner meetings, they are focusing on brick and mortar projects initiated by PML-N is southern Punjab. PML-N’s candidate Mohmmad Ali Khokar, the Multan Development Authority chairman, is also contesting polls, in PP-213.

PML-N has adopted a strategy to malign PTI leaders during its corner meetings. PML-N office bearers make allegations that the great grandfather of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, whose name was also Shah Mahmood Qureshi, helped and supported the British against Muslims in the Pakistan Movement. The forefathers of Shah Mahmood Qureshi are being depicted as traitors, who allegedly received huge amount of money, lands and other benefits from the British officers and killed Muslims population in Multan.

Of all Multan constituencies, Mili Muslim League and Terhreek-e-Labaik Pakistan have fielded the most number of candidates in NA-155.

Arshad Bhatti of the Allah ho Akbar Tehrik (MMA’s front) is contesting polls from NA-155 and Imran Mayo from PP-215. Mufti Abdul Aleem Jalali is the TLP candidate in NA-155. To encourage voters, Maulana Fazalur Rehman, Hafiz Saeed and MML head Saifullah Khalid have made several rounds of this constituency in the past few months and addressed political procession.

Their campaign speeches revolve around issues such as Kashmir, Sharia laws, and corruption. Moreover, they also glorify the death of terrorism convict Mumtaz Qadri. The famous slogan of TLP is “badlo is Nizam ko, vote do Islam ko” (change the system, and vote for Islam). Liaqat Baloch, the secretary general of JI, has promised to liberate the people of southern Punjab from the scourge of feudal lords in his campaign speeches.

A survey conducted by Daily Times suggested that the main civic issue of the constituency was poor sewerage systems. Residents of Wahdat Colony held a protest against lack of sewerage facilities lately. They complained that sewage gets mixed with drinking water due to poor maintenance of sanitation infrastructure. This causes various diseases, including typhoid and malaria.

Due to the presence of stagnant water on roads, it becomes difficult to even breathe, the protesters from the colony told this scribe. They said that the problems were highlighted in the general elections of 2013 as well, but no action was taken by the elected representatives.

Published in Daily Times, July 16^th 2018.