BY M. FASEEH UL HASSAN GUJAR KHAN  -  PPP candidate Raja Per­vez Ashraf , the speaker national assembly; and Raja Jawaid Ikhlas of PML-N are poised to have tough contest at national assembly seat of NA-52 during the coming elections. Raja Pervez Ashraf ,also for­mer prime minister has long history of contest­ing against IJI/PML and PML-N at provincial and national assembly seats.

In the year 2002, gen­eral Elections Raja Per­vez Ashraf had scored 81761 against Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti of PML-Q who could bag 46343 votes while Chaudhry Khurshid Zaman (former MNA and younger brother of Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz ) had scored 26895 votes. In 2008 general elections, Raja Pervez Ashraf won the national assembly seat of Gujar Khan (Then NA -51 with 80247 votes by defeat­ing Raja Qasim Jawaid Ikhlas (s/o Raja Jawaid Ikhlas ,then district Na­zim Rwp) who bagged 69690 for PML-Q while PML-N candidate Ch. Muhammad Riaz for­mer provincial minister could bag 56381 votes . 

In the next elec­tion of 2013, after join­ing PML-N Raja Jawaid Ikhlas himself entered the arena and scored 121067 votes against 67146 of Raja Pervez Ashraf, ex-prime minis­ter; while Raja Farhat Faheem Bhatti of PTI stood at 39842 votes. In this election PML/PML-N sort of division did not occur among the voters and it turned victorious on PPPP. 

In the Elections 2018 Raja Pervez Ashraf ,ex-prime minister , had staged come back in the national assembly by securing 125090 votes against Ch. Mu­hammad Azeem of PTI who could bag 96574 votes while Raja jawaid Ikhlas of PML-N got 3rd position by securing 72620 while another significant vote breaker was TLP candidate Mu­hammad Ramzan Awan who got 23428 votes .

This time round the situation at the national assembly competition is again complex. Raja Jawaid Ikhlas is almost the sole contender for PML-N ticket at NA lev­el to confront Raja Per­vez Ashraf of PPP but at the provincial assembly seats of PP-8 and PP-9 are many for the PML-N tickets and the wings at the provincial assembly seats, that count a lot for the success or defeat of a candidate. 

In PP-8, Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz for­mer provincial minis­ter has fielded his son Khurram Riaz Chaudhry ,Former MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Warsi also hope for the best ;while a former town Nazim of Gujar Khan city ,Shahid Saraf has also jumped in to wrangle for the party ticket from the PML-N.

On the other hand the PML-N ticket re­mains cherished dream of Raja Shauket Aziz Bhatti,EX MPA ,Raja Muhammad Hamid advocate and Qazi Ab­dul Waqar and three of them are in hot persuit of candidature in PP-9. The rejection of candi­dature to any of these may affect the results above in the national assembly as well. 

On the other hand PTI candidates are many like Raja Tariq Advocate ,Farakh Mahmood Seyal, Sohail Abbas Kiani are hopeful for the PTI tick­et. TLP candidate Mu­hammad Ramzan Awan who had bagged 23428 votes at his first entry has now again emerged as likely candidate of TLP at NA-52 ;while re­ligious and conservative minded voters are being attracted by TLP. Raja Pervez Ashraf ,speaker national assembly and former prime minister has this edge over oth­ers that his candidature is almost undisputed because at PP-8 his son Khurram Pervez Raja while at PP-9 seat former PP candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Sarfraz Khan is again trying his luck.

Raja Jawaid Ikhlas for­mer federal parliamen­tary secretary and many times MPA and district nazim Rawalpindi ,is quite experienced in contesting elections and wooing his voters due to his roots in the local bodies network and is a so far potential threat to Raja Pervez Ashraf. On the other hand Raja Per­vez Ashraf ,the speaker national assembly and the former prime minis­ter and PPP stalwart has many feathers in his cap . While acting as prime minister after the sud­den ouster of Syed Yusif Raza Gillani ,he had got approved two dual-car­riageways, linking So­hawa and and Mandra towns from GT road to the Motorway via Chak­wal. Dozens of villages across Gujar Khan were provided sui gas facility and the remote areas villages were the pri­ority. Networks of link roads and street pave­ment were the major achievement that he can bank upon. In his recent tenure as NA Speaker, Mr. Ashraf got approved a sub campus of Punjab University for Gujar Khan with fund­ing of Rs. 4 billion. 

Some political pun­dits are also looking forward to distribution of tickets to PML-N and PTI aspirants and rel­egation of deprivation of the some out of many might develop unseen cracks on the basis of bradary or any of them might dare to stand as ‘independent’, to pave way for the opponent as it happened in the past.