<\/p>\n
From Bilawal’s electoral debut in Punjab to the battle of influential families in Multan, the 2024 polls still have something to get excited about.<\/p>\n
Disqualification of prominent leaders and depriving PTI of its electoral symbol means the 2024 general elections are not as exciting as its predecessors have been.<\/p>\n
The campaigning has picked up some pace of late, but even then it is clear that in terms of excitement, the Feb 8 polls will be a shadow of its former self.<\/p>\n
That said, in isolation, there are still some constituencies where big-name candidates are expected to stage neck-and-neck battles.<\/p>\n
Dawn.com<\/em> has sifted through the 272 NA constituencies and compiled a list of eight seats where major high-profile candidates are anticipated to give each other tough competition.<\/p>\n PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and PTI\u2019s former provincial health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid will face off in NA-130, Lahore, in what could be a heated electoral battle.<\/p>\n Former PM Nawaz, who could not take part in the 2018 elections due to his conviction in the Panama Papers case, is back in the election arena after getting a clean chit from the courts. He will also be running from<\/a> NA-15 in Mansehra against Gustasif Khan of the PTI and JUI-F\u2019s Mufti Kifayatullah.<\/p>\n However, his main competition will be in his traditional stronghold of Lahore, where it will be interesting to see if he has lost any ground due to his party\u2019s controversial 16-month rule. He will be up against Dr Rashid, whose stock among the PTI faithful has been boosted for not budging or leaving the party\u2019s embattled leader despite months of detention.<\/p>\n In 2018, Rashid was a close second<\/a> to PML-N\u2019s Waheed Alam Khan in Lahore\u2019s NA-125. She managed to secure 105,857 votes but was ultimately unsuccessful against Khan, who got 122,327 votes. She was later elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PTI on a reserved seat for women.<\/a><\/p>\n PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is contesting the 2024 general elections from three NA constituencies: two from his home province of Sindh and one from NA-127 Lahore in what will be his electoral debut in Punjab. In Lahore, he will be facing PML-N firebrand Ataullah Tarar as well as Chaudhry Shabbir Gujjar \u2014 an independent associated with the PTI.<\/p>\n Despite Bilawal\u2019s stature in Pakistani politics, he has yet to personally win an electoral battle outside the comfort zone of Larkana. In 2018, his attempt for NA seats in Karachi and Malakand was thwarted. For this reason alone, his decision to try his luck in the uncharted waters of Lahore is an even bigger risk.<\/p>\n Tarar has already criticised Bilawal\u2019s foray into Lahore, saying<\/a>, \u201cWhat kind of significant project had been completed in Karachi that you (Bilawal) now make your way to Lahore? How dare they (PPP) come to Lahore?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLahore is the stronghold of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. The people of the city love Nawaz Sharif. PML-N had clinched victory in Lahore even in difficult circumstances,\u201d the former SAPM said.<\/p>\n Bilawal has remained undeterred in his speeches, and urged the people of Lahore to vote for the PPP, saying<\/a>, \u201cFor the last 30 years, a party (PML-N) has ruled Lahore, but its condition is worse than any other city in the country. That party, in fact, represented the elite and not the common man, and therefore, it served only the former\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the contrary, the PPP is a party representing all segments of society and works for their welfare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n One of the most anticipated battles will be seen in Lahore\u2019s NA-119 where Maryam Nawaz, the apparent political heir<\/a> of three-time premier Nawaz, will be contesting<\/a> the general elections for the first time this year against Mian Abaad Farooque of the PTI and Iftikhar Shahid of the PPP.<\/p>\n The last time polls were held in 2018, Maryam was given party tickets for one National Assembly and one Punjab Assembly seat. But ahead of the elections, Maryam, along with Nawaz and her husband, was convicted<\/a> in the Avenfield reference, in which she was accused of being \u201cinstrumental in concealment of the properties of her father\u201d and given a seven-year prison term.<\/p>\n She was subsequently disqualified from contesting elections for a decade.<\/p>\n Maryam and her husband\u2019s convictions in the Avenfield reference were finally overturned<\/a> by the IHC in 2022, paving the way for her to contest elections.<\/p>\n In January 2023, Maryam was elevated<\/a> in the party\u2019s ranks and appointed senior vice president and chief organiser, making her one of the PML-N\u2019s senior-most leaders.<\/p>\n Maryam, along with her cousin Hamza Sharif \u2014 son of former PM Shehbaz Sharif and former Punjab chief minister\u2014 are also contesting on provincial assembly seats from Lahore and perhaps eying<\/a> the chief ministership of the country\u2019s largest province.<\/p>\n It will be interesting to see if Maryam can at last become a part of the National and provincial assemblies, defeating PTI and PPP leaders in Lahore.<\/p>\n The rivalry between the Qureshis and the Gilanis<\/a> goes back decades long before any elections as both are \u2018spiritual\u2019 families. In Multan, as in many rural parts of the country, the Makhdooms are seen as intercessors. Their status, as custodians of revered local shrines, can also lend candidates an advantage in the \u201ccity of saints\u201d.<\/p>\n This year PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi\u2019s daughter Mehr Bano Qureshi will face<\/a> PPP\u2019s Ali Musa Gilani \u2014 son of former PM Yousuf Raza Gilani in Multan\u2019s NA-151.<\/p>\n In Multan, Qureshi boasts a personal vote bank that supports him regardless who his party is. Thus, when he switched from PML-N to PPP in 1993, and from PPP to PTI in 2011, his core supporters stood by his side. This year, his daughter Mehr Bano Qureshi will fight the electoral battler in Multan on behalf of the family.<\/p>\n Like the Qureshis, the Gilanis also have a strong voter base in Multan. However, they were unable to get any joy from the City of Saints in the 2018 elections when the PTI had clean swept all six of the city\u2019s NA seats. With the Qureshis under the cosh this year, the Gilanis may smell an opportunity to stage a comeback and regain some of the lost ground.<\/p>\n In Lahore\u2019s NA-122, another one of PML-N\u2019s traditional strongholds, it\u2019s senior leader leader Khawaja Saad Rafiq will be up against PTI\u2019s Sardar Latif Khosa \u2014 a new PTI member who joined the party from PPP and has represented party founder Imran Khan in several high-profile cases.<\/p>\n While addressing a workers\u2019 convention in Lahore in Dec 2023, Rafique questioned<\/a> PTI\u2019s contributions during its nine-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, asking, \u201cDid it build any children\u2019s hospital, any cardiology institute or generate a single megawatt of electricity?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRather than being influenced by performance on social media and narratives, the general elections will be grounded in the realities of towns and villages of the country,\u201d he said, criticising the PTI\u2019s reliance on social media.<\/p>\n Stressing that voter decisions should be based on tangible performance, Rafique detailed what he said were PML-N\u2019s achievements, including a network of motorways and energy projects, in contrast to \u201cPTI\u2019s lack of major projects\u201d during its four years of rule.<\/p>\n Khosa, whose PPP membership was suspended<\/a> in September last year for representing Imran in several cases \u201cwithout prior approval of [party] leadership\u201d, joined<\/a> the PTI in December. Despite being new to the party, he is not at all new to the world of politics and served as the Governor of Punjab<\/a> from 2011 to 2013 and was one of Benazir Bhutto\u2019s top aides<\/a>.<\/p>\n A tough competition<\/a> is likely in NA-44, Dera Ismail Khan, among three regional heavyweights \u2014 Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader and former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and Pakistan Peoples Party\u2019s central information secretary Faisal Karim Kundi.<\/p>\n In the 2018 election, Gandapur, then contesting on the PTI ticket, defeated JUI-F chief Fazl by a massive margin.<\/p>\n In December last year, Kundi invited<\/a> Gandapur to join PPP. While talking to media persons, he said the invitation was extended so they could work jointly for the development of Dera Ismail Khan.<\/p>\n Kundi had also urged PTI workers to join PPP to defeat what he said was their common opponent, Fazl.<\/p>\n In Karachi\u2019s NA-241, Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM-P will be up against PTI Karachi president Khurram Sher Zaman.<\/p>\n Sattar\u2019s association<\/a> with the party goes back decades. He was one of the earliest members of APMSO (All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation), which was formed in 1978 and was a precursor of to MQM.<\/p>\n In 1987, at the age of 28, he was elected the mayor of Karachi and ran the party in close coordination with party founder Altaf Hussain.<\/p>\n In 2018, after MQM was divided<\/a> into factions, Sattar contested from NA-245 but lost to late Amir Liaqat Hussain \u2014 then of the PTI. This year, his main opponent will against be a PTI member in the form of Zaman.<\/p>\n Sattar is also a candidate from Karachi\u2019s NA-244, where another former PTI MNA Aftab Jahangir \u2014 who won from Karachi in 2018 \u2014 will be his primary rival.<\/p>\n Zaman, who was recently allowed<\/a> by an election tribunal to contest elections, was triumphant on PTI\u2019s ticket on a provincial seat in 2018 but has been given an NA ticket this year.<\/p>\n In Rawalpindi\u2019s NA-56, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid and PML-N\u2019s Hanif Abbasi will be rekindling their long-time rivalry.<\/p>\n In 2018, Rashid won from Rawalpindi\u2019s NA-62, defeating the PML-N candidate after the PTI, as part of its alliance with Rashid, did not field a candidate.<\/p>\n However, come 2024, Rashid has severed ties with the PTI, and so this time around he will not only have to face PML-N\u2019s Abbasi, but also take on PTI\u2019s Shahryar Riaz.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Abbasi and Rashid, both local heavyweights, will finally see each other in the electoral battle. They was supposed to clash in NA-60 in 2018 but the elections had to be postponed<\/a> due to Abbasi\u2019s arrest and subsequent conviction in a narcotics case.<\/p>\n Last year, the Lahore High Court set aside<\/a> his conviction and acquitted<\/a> Abbasi earlier this month following his successful appeal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From Bilawal’s electoral debut in Punjab to the battle of influential families in Multan, the 2024 polls still have something to get excited about. Disqualification of prominent leaders and depriving PTI of its electoral symbol means the 2024 general elections are not as exciting as its predecessors have been. The campaigning has picked up some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/01\/291433249cfce1f.png?r=143331","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Yasmin Rashid vs Nawaz Sharif<\/h2>\n
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari vs Ataullah Tarar<\/h2>\n
Maryam Nawaz vs Mian Abaad Farooque vs Iftikhar Shahid<\/h2>\n
Ali Musa Gilani vs Mehr Bano Qureshi<\/h2>\n
Khawaja Saad Rafique vs Sardar Latif Khosa<\/h2>\n
Maulana Fazlur Rehman vs Ali Amin Gandapur vs Faisal Karim Kundi<\/h2>\n
Farooq Sattar vs Khurram Sher Zaman<\/h2>\n
Sheikh Rasheed vs Hanif Abbasi<\/h2>\n