The candidates of different political parties have started flexing their muscles for campaign of local bodies elections for 17 districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa scheduled to be held on December 19.
As polling day are coming nearer, election campaign in Peshawar,Nowshera, Charsadda, Khyber, Mohmand, Mardan, Swabi, Kohat, Karak, Hangu,Bannu, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Tank, Haripur, Buner and Bajaur districts are heating up where candidates are addressing public gatherings and corner meetings besides door to door campaign to woo the voters and inform them about their election manifesto.
All eyes are on Peshawar’s metropolitan mayor seat where PTI, PPP, JUIF, ANP and Jummat-e-Islami have fielded political heavyweights and business tycoons to clinch the coveted seat.
PTI’s Muhammad Rizwan Bangash, who has a vast experience in social and public services including waste management and sanitation, and others municipal related projects started addressing public gathering and corner meetings by diverting people attention towards PTI Government’s mega uplift projects for Peshawar including BRT.
Zubair Ali, son of former city district nazim Haji Ghulam Ali and son-in-law of JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is eyeing on religious votes bank of JUIF in Peshawar and his father past performance as District Nazim, Peshawar besides support of Qumi Watan Party.
Arbab Zarak Khan, who is fielded by PPP has a strong Baradari and can surprise many due to sufficient votes bank of his party in the Peshawar City.
Sher Rehman, an ANP loyalist, is mainly concentrating on the nationalists votes and started addressing public gatherings to woo voters ahead of the D-Day. Behrullah Khan Advocate has been fielded by Jumaat-e- Islami due to his long services and loyalty for the party.
Political observers believed that fielding of separate candidates by JUIF and JI were likely to split religious votes that may benefit others candidates.
These political heavyweights are among 125 candidates filed nomination papers for mayor and chairman seats of different tehsils out of which 49 candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers and now 76 are left in the electoral race.
A total of 37,752 candidates are in run for different seats including mayor, chairman, general councilor, youth, labour, farmers, minority and woman in the first phase of the local bodies election.
As many as 1,006 candidates submitted nomination papers for seats of chairman and mayor of tehsil councils in these 17 districts out ofwhom nomination papers of 977 candidates approved, 29 rejected, 284 with drawn and now only 689 are left in the electoral race.Similarly, 19,282 candidates are contesting for the seats of general councilor in 20,648 village and neigbourhood councils in these districts where nomination papers of 20,648 candidates approved, 1,140 rejected and 1,599 withdrawn after 21,788 nomination papers were submitted for general councilors.
For women seats, nomination papers of 3,943 candidates approved, 277 rejected and 151 withdrawn against 4,220 submitted nomination papers and now 3,905 candidates are contesting.
Out of a total 8,078 submitted nomination papers for seats of farmers and labourers, as many as 7,513 candidates are flexing muscle after rejection of nomination papers of 419 candidates and withdrawal of 322 candidates and approval of 7,659.As many as 6,804 candidates filed nomination papers out ofwhich 6161 accepted, 643 rejected and 180 withdrawn.
Likewise, 328 candidates submitted nomination papers for the minority seats out of which nomination papers of 292 candidates accepted, 36 rejected, eight withdrawn and now 282 candidates are engaged in electoral battle heating up with each passing day.
Great hustle and bustle and political mobilisation is being witnessed in these districts where candidates are participating in almost every activity from funeral to wedding and engagement to settling local disputes in a bid to muster voters’ support.Even so, the candidates started visiting local courts with litigants and public offices, who may be their potential voters, to help the sort out matters at earliest.
Great enthusiasm is being witnessed among young voters for local bodies’ elections.Billboards and posters printing business shined in KP where printers were earning substantial revenue due to overwhelming orders placed by the candidates.
