Elections 2013 -Battle of Attock

Many would be amazed to know that Chaudary Pervaiz Ellahi sat in National Assembly for five years after getting elected from this seat of Attock. Comprising of the rural areas of Attock, this was one of the few constituencies of Pakistan where money was openly spent in order to ‘buy’ victory. Ellahi didn’t even bother to visit the area before or after the elections. Now five years have passed and the situation is different.  Pervaiz Ellahi defeated Malik Sohail Khan of PML-N after a tough competition. Sohail is now part of PTI and arguably one of the strongest candidates PTI has in northern Punjab.  During the last five years Sohail worked really hard in his area and has earned a reputation as a peoples’ man.Other candidates are Malik Aitebaar Khan from PML-N and Sardar Mumtaz Khan from PPP.  Tahir Sadiq has also submitted his nomination papers from this area. This is his home constituency but he would have to canvass really hard to be able to match Sohail’s performance of the last five years.Malik Aitebaar belongs to a respected family and is political heir of late Malik Allah yaar Khan, a renowned political figure. Malik Aitebaar Khan defeated Sardar Mumtaz on provincial assembly seat (PP-19) in 2008 elections. Malik was then part of PML-Q and Mumtaz was PML-N candidateAs of today, Sohail enjoys a very good position in this area and all other opponents would have to do some serious brainstorming in order to get a slightly bigger share of the pie.  But who knows what would happen on 11^th of May.This is the constituency where Pakistan Peoples’ Party still holds some political power. The main contenders for this upcoming election are the incumbent member of National Assembly Sardar Saleem Haider Khan of PPP and Malik Asif of PML-N.  Previously, Sardar Saleem got elected by defeating Chaudary Waseem Gulzar of PML-Q, who is not testing his luck this time around.Despite having a low profile, in 2011 a cabinet reshuffle gave Saleem the portfolio of Minister of State for Defense Production, reflecting the trust and confidence his party has on him.  Sardar Saleem is in a very good position this time as well and might actually be able to win the seat again.There are a number of reasons behind Saleem’s strong position in the constituency despite the fact that he belongs to the ruling PPP who have lost the confidence of the masses during its last tenure. One major reason is the effective liaison which Saleem has maintained throughout his tenure. After being appointed State minister, he focused on development projects and giving employment opportunities in his constituency.Other reason why Saleem enjoys a stranglehold here is the negligence on the part of PML-N and PTI, both of whom did not focus on this constituency. As a result, both are unable to find suitable candidates who could challenge Sardar Saleem’s sound position.PML-N’s candidate Malik Asif could not make any significant difference the last time and was third in the race. The trend is likely to continue this time too. Probable PTI candidate Sardar Muhammad Ali is not politically strong either. He lost provincial assembly seat by a heavy margin in 2008.Rumors are also circulating in different parts of the constituency that former district nazim Tahir Sadiq, who himself is contesting from NA-57 and 58, is fielding his son Zain Ellahi from PML-Q ticket. If this rumor happens to be true, Zain might give his opponents a tough time.