The top 33 fights among big guns

ISLAMABAD: Electoral fights in at least 33 constituencies of the National Assembly will be under close watch because of the presence of high-profile personalities in the run.

Of these seats, 25 are in the Punjab, four in Sindh, three in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and one in Balochistan.

The contest in three the Punjab constituencies where PML-Q leader and prime ministerial aspirant Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is fighting has evoked increased interest. He is vying for NA-58 Attock where the PPP and PML-N have pitched their nominees against him. In the neighbouring Chakwal, he is seeking election from NA-61 where two Tammans, Mansoor and Faiz, have challenged him on the tickets of PPP and PML-N, respectively. The third constituency where Pervaiz is in the run is NA-187 Bahawalpur where the nominees of the PML-N and PPP, among others, are pitched against him.

The fight in the two constituencies of Gujrat and Sialkot where PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is contesting is of interest. In Gujrat (NA-105), PPP's Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, the old challenger against PML-Q chief, is in the run. There is no prominent political personality facing Chaudhry Shujaat in Sialkot (NA-112).

Eyes are set and heated discussion continues to take place on the fate of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who is the PML-Q nominee in NA-55 and NA-56 Rawalpindi. In the first constituency, top PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi is contesting against him and in the second, Hanif Abbasi, who switched over to the PML-N from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) shortly before the elections. Besides, Hashmi is running for two other National Assembly constituencies, NA-123 Lahore and NA-148 Multan. The PPP and PML-Q candidates in Lahore have challenged him.

In Multan, top PPP leader Shah Ahmed Mehmood is contesting against him. PPP's Secretary General Raja Pervez Ashraf is mainly challenged by PML-N's Chaudhry Riaz in NA-51 Rawalpindi (Gujjar Khan).

Senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is aspiring for election from two Rawalpindi seats, NA-52 and NA-53. His contest against former federal minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has created interest.

Another two Attock constituencies, NA-57 and NA-59, assume importance because the husband (Wasim Gulzar) and wife (Eman Wasim), the daughter of Attock district Nazim and niece of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, are in the run. PML-N's Sheikh Aftab and Malik Amin Aslam are fighting against Ms Wasim while the PPP and PML-N nominees are pitched against Wasim Gulzar.

In Jhelum, former federal minister Chaudhry Shahbaz is contesting for two seats (NA-62 and NA-63). In both constituencies, the PPP and PML-N candidates are running against him.

Former minister Dr Sher Afgan's bid for re-election from NA-72 Mianwali has generated interest. Humair Rokri, a relative of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, is the main contender against him.

In NA-88 Jhang, the old rivals, Syed Abida Hussain (PPP) and Faisal Saleh Hayat are facing each other.

The contest in Sialkot (NA-111) is important where National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain has been challenged by PPP's Dr Firdous Ashaq Awan, who left the PML-Q and joined this party some time before the election schedule was unfolded.

The PPP and PML-N nominees have challenged the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Chairman Daniyal Aziz in NA-116 Narowal.

In the adjoining NA-117, PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal is in the race. Similarly, former minister Naseer Khan is vying for NA-115.

Hamza, son of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, is fighting for NA-119 Lahore where the PPP and PML-Q candidates, among others, are facing him.

Another prime ministerial hopeful of the PML-Q Hamayun Akhtar is desperate to win from NA-124 from where PPP's Aitzaz Ahsan withdrew his candidature to honour the lawyersí boycott of the elections.

PML-N's firebrand leader Saad Rafiq is contesting for NA-125 Lahore.

Yet another prime ministerial aspirant Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri is in the run for NA-140 Kasur where another former foreign minister Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali (PPP) and independent Sardar Hassan Akhtar Moakkal (backed by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi), are contesting. Top PPP leaders Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Fakhar Imam are vying for NA-151 and NA-156 Multan respectively.

PML-Q's Sikandar Bosan and its Raza Hayat Hiraj have challenged Gilani and Imam, respectively.

PML-N's firebrand leader Begum Tehmeena Daultana is contesting for two Vehari seats, NA-168 and NA-169. In the first constituency, PML-Q's Ishaq Khakwani is facing her. The father (Farooq Leghari) and the son (Awais) are contesting for Dera Ghazi Khan's NA-172 and NA-173 seats, respectively.

In Sindh, the fights of PML-Q's Ghous Bux Mahar (NA-203 Shikarpur), Ghinwa Bhutto (NA-204 Larkana), PML-Q's Fahad Malik (nephew of caretaker prime minister Muhammadmian Soomro) and Functional League's Jam Mashooq (NA-236 Sanghar) will be of interest. In the NWFP, the constituencies where Aftab Sherpao (NA-8 Charsadda), Asfandyar Wali (NA-8 Charsadda) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman (NA-26 Bannu and NA-24 Dera Ismail Khan) are contesting have also created interest.

Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani of the MMA and PPP's Wazir Ahmed Jogezai are vying for Balochistan constituency (NA-264 Zhob).

(http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=96827)