MARDAN: Election excitement has gripped the Mardan area, where former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, is expected to face off against PTI-backed former Provincial Minister Atif Khan in the national assembly constituency NA-22 Mardan-II.
With only six days until the 2024 general election, political parties and independent candidates have accelerated their efforts to persuade voters through rallies, corner meetings, and door-to-door campaigning. To gain attention, the candidates began using social media and placing advertisements in national newspapers.
All eyes are on NA-22 Mardan-II, where the ANP has handed a ticket to former Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, who is being opposed by former KP senior minister Muhammad Atif Khan, who is supported by the PTI.
In the 2013 general election, Haider Hoti won the constituency with 44,769 votes, while Nasir Khan of the PTI received 42,068. In the 2018 general election, Haider Hoti held his seat with 78,911 votes, defeating Atif Khan by 35 votes. Political competitors are once again fighting elections and vying for the support of huge tribes.
Former MNA Mujahid Khan is running as an independent candidate with the electoral symbol “Dove” on NA 21-Mardan-1, and he is being contested by candidates from the ANP, PPP, and JUIF.
In the 2013 general election, Mujahid Khan secured 38,233 votes, defeating Imdadullah Yousafzai of JUIF with 26,625 votes, and in the 2018 general election, Mujahid Khan again won this constituency for the PTI.
Former federal minister Ali Muhammad is running independently with the electoral symbol “Dolphin” on NA-23-Mardan-3, while PTI’s former MPA Toufail Anjum is running independently with the symbol “Pillow” on PK-55, Mardan-2.
Former MNA Ali Muhammad won the 2013 PTI election with 58,577 votes against 56, 318 ballots, while JUIF Maulana Muhammad Qasim finished second with 56,318 votes. The PTI founder won the constituency with 76, 681 votes, while Maulana Qasim of JUIF received 68, 181 votes.
According to ECP, the total registered voters in Mardan district are 1,538,078, including 696,382 women, with 1,055 voting stations comprising 353 male, 319 female, and 383 polling stations combined.
42 candidates, including two women, are running for all three national assembly seats, while around 105 candidates, including three women, are vying for eight provincial assembly seats in the politically fertile Mardan District.
While expecting split candidates in Mardan, Professor Dr. A.H. Hilali, former Political Science Department, University of Peshawar, stated that young voters will play an important role in determining the fortunes of the ANP, JUIF, PPP, PTI, PMLN, and other independents on February 8, 2024.
The big political parties, including the PTI, PMLN, and PPP, had already released election manifestos that would play a significant role in determining the fate of their candidates on D-Day.
“Participation of women in voting is mandatory as per election laws and candidates have to work tirelessly to bring voters into polling stations on February 8, 2024,” he told the crowd.
Muhammad Ishaq, a resident of Moti Banda Mardan, stated that unemployment, poor sanitation, and poverty were key issues, and that politicians with good ideas to address them would be elected.
He stated that providing clean drinking water and loans to farmers for agricultural and livestock promotion would help to generate employment possibilities while also easing poverty in rural areas.
