Summary Elections for 13 seats will be held in Mirpur Division
MIRPUR: (Dunya News) - Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections for Legislative Assembly (LA) in first phase are being held on Monday (today), with PML-N and PPP as major parties locking horns in the race, which has pitted the coalition partners against each other, after the stalwarts of both parties held public rallies and remained indulged in exchanging allegations, heating up the political temperature.
PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari among others who held mammoth election rallies to woo voters for their candidates. The situation turned bitter when the leaders uttered the words which riled the partners and made them rivals, at least in the AJK elections.
PPP accused the federal government of influencing the polls, whereas PMLN said PPP leadership was crossing the red line with regard to Kashmir status.
General elections for 13 seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Mirpur Division will be held, with election authorities completing all arrangements and dispatching polling materials to designated polling stations under strict security.
According to the Election Commission, elections will be held for four seats in Mirpur, three in Bhimber and six in Kotli, where candidates from major political parties and independent contenders will compete.
Officials said the distribution of ballot papers and other election materials from the District Returning Officer (DRO) office has begun. Presiding officers received the polling materials and transported them to their respective polling stations under tight security.
Police and other law enforcement agencies remained deployed throughout the transportation process to ensure the safe delivery of election materials. Authorities said all arrangements have been finalized to ensure polling begins on time on Sunday.
CLOSE CONTESTS EXPECTED ACROSS KEY CONSTITUENCIES
Several constituencies are expected to witness closely fought contests among candidates from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independents, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and independent candidates.
In LA-1 Mirpur-I, a close contest is expected between PPP's Afsar Shahid and PML-N's Azhar Sadiq.
LA-2 Mirpur-II is likely to see a three-way contest among PML-N's Azeem Bakhsh, PPP's Qasim Majeed and PTI-backed independent Zafar Anwar.
In LA-3 Mirpur-III, PML-N's Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed and PPP's Yasir Sultan are expected to face stiff competition, while IPP's Tasleem Arif and independent candidate Umair Asghar are also in the race.
LA-4 Mirpur-IV (Khari Sharif) is expected to witness a close contest between PML-N's Rukhsar Ahmed and PPP's Sohaib Arshad.
In LA-5 Bhimber-I (Barnala), PML-N's retired Colonel Waqar Noor will compete against PPP's Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf.
LA-6 Bhimber-II (Samahni) is expected to see a tough contest between IPP's Ali Shan Soni and PML-N's Muhammad Razaq Chaudhry.
Former Azad Kashmir prime minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, contesting as an independent candidate, is expected to face a strong challenge from PML-N's Tariq Farooq in LA-7 Bhimber-III.
In LA-12 Kotli-V, PPP's Muhammad Yaseen Chaudhry and PML-N's Muhammad Riasat Khan are expected to be locked in a close contest.
