By Saleem Shahid
Despite the boycott, some leaders have decided not to leave the ground open for their traditional rivals, recalling the impact of post-1985 partyless elections in Balochistan.
The election scene has assumed interesting turns in Balochistan over a period of time, generating keen interest among the poll observers.
There is still uncertainty about elections in this province as the key players and parties are out of the electoral battle in general. No big party is contesting the present elections, nor are there any big names in the electoral battles in major parts of Balochistan, barring a few constituencies where influential people are retaining their traditional vote bank. These people refused to hand over their vote bank to unknowns or strangers by joining the political boycott of the elections and are within their right to defend their political constituents in all circumstances.
Similarly, there is no big contest and no direct clashes between the political or tribal giants in the elections which have deprived the election of its interest and colour. In addition the inclement weather also played its part in keeping the people inside their homes and barring them from participating in the election meetings and rallies.
Chaurdhary Pervaiz Illahi, the biggest name in the erstwhile ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q, also came to Quetta and addressed an election rally, but inside a closed hall where hundreds of people were present.
On the contrary, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) held its anti-election rally at the main hockey stadium of Pakistan railways adjacent to the Governor’s House demonstrating its power and influence over the people. Tens of thousands of people attended the public meting even though the temperature touched down to minus 10 degrees centigrade with Siberian winds blowing in and making the streets and commercial districts deserted. Earlier, the APDM held very big anti-election rallies in Chaman, Loralai, Pishin, Zhob and other parts of Balochistan demonstrating their power and influence.
The behaviour of the people is also cold towards the contestants of the electoral battles as new faces were brought into the forefront who attract neither the male nor female voters. Their credentials are not known, they are unfamiliar and thus enjoy no support during the campaign. However, the PML (Q) has retained the big and known names and faces in order to hold on to their old and guaranteed constituencies. Among them are Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf of Lasbela, a former Chief Minister, Sardar Yar Mohamamd Rind, a former Federal Minister, Mir Abdul Rehman Jamali, a former Provincial Minister, Mr Aslam Bhootani, a former Deputy Speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, a former Finance Minister and many others.
The JUI is no more a united party in this election. There is a dissident group headed by former Minister, Maualan Asmatullah. He is a known hard liner in the JUI rank and file and is putting up serious challenges to the mother party by holding huge public meetings in Zhob, the home constituency of Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, a former MNA and known as the king maker in Balochistan.
There is a campaign against Maulana Sherani in the JUI and he is accused of selecting only personally loyal people, denying party tickets to others, including Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a former Deputy Secretary General who also won his National Assembly Seat more than once. Traditionally, northern Balochistan had been the battleground between the JUI and the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) in almost all the previous elections. The PMAP has boycotted the elections and has been replaced by the Awami National Party (ANP) of Asfandyar Wali in most of the constituencies, challenging the power and influence of JUI.
However, political giants enjoying social and economic power in Balochistan are retaining their seats by all means. In the first case, they themselves are contesting the elections. Otherwise, their nominees are contesting or defending their constituencies in the coming elections as the traditional power brokers are all in the driving seats, chasing out the middle class from the permanent political scene of Balochistan. Conclusively, the political pundits have ruled out a massive turn out of the people on the polling day due to the absence of political activists, known and big political names and the inclement weather.
In the 1970 elections there was a mere 28 per cent turn out of voters though tens of thousands of political workers and populist political leaders participated in those elections. In the follow up elections held with periodic intervals, candidates won their seats with a few thousand votes. The readers should not be surprise if this time someone wins his seat by polling votes in hundreds and not in thousands. Political pundits are predicting that different groups and parties will reach the coming assembly and, as usual, no party will be in a position to form its own government in the province. In the absence of Pashtoon and Baloch nationalist parties, the PML-Q could emerge as a single majority party in the elections as it has awarded party tickets to those influential political and tribal personalities who have their own vote bank. They are not depending on party vote. Many of them have been elected to the national and provincial assemblies from Balochistan on the ticket of other political parties in the past.
Political observers are of the opinion that though the APMD has boycotted the elections, indirectly they are in the running by fielding some independent candidates loyal to them. Despite the boycott, some leaders inside the democratic movement have decided not to leave the ground open for their traditional rivals in their respective constituencies, recalling the impact of post-1985 party less elections in the province, when new faces challenged their political strongholds. Those faces are yet to be defeated in the electioneering as they continue to retain their seats despite odds.
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