The general elections of 2013 were perhaps, the most anticipated and watched such exercise in the history of Pakistan.
Proof of this lay in the breathless televised pre-poll campaigning, shrill party advertising pitch, talk shows, interviews, analyses, Election Day coverage, and subsequently, extensive post-poll analyses.
As for the voter turnout, it was one of the highest ever in the country’s electoral history. But for the average buff, and even voter, the highlight were the big ticket individual contests.
As well as throwing up expected winners, there were some really interesting upsets. Pique charts out some of the big losers.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Chaudhry Nisar, the PML-N leader who has created a national record by securing a slot in the National Assembly for the eighth time, lost to PTI candidate Ghulam Sarwar Khan in NA-53 in Rawalpindi. He, however, won from another constituency. The turnout in NA-53 was huge and he received 102,430 votes. His opponent defeated him by obtaining 110,593 votes.
Sarwar is very popular in the constituency and he regularly visits the area. On the other hand, Nisar is known as a lawmaker, who tries to retain his vote bank from a distance. Another reason cited for Nisar’s defeat is that Sarwar had quit PML-N to join, causing a split in traditional PML-N vote. Joining PTI in time helped him gain mileage from its popularity and win support of a large number of new voters. The PTI office-bearers say their victory in the constituency may also be attributed to this high turnout. The young and new voter voted for PTI, they believe.
Sarwar had also won from here as an independent candidate in 2002 and enjoyed power during Musharraf regime.
Furthermore, there are reports that Nisar’s opponent had full support of real estate magnate Malik Riaz who was desperate to see Nisar bite the dust.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf lost to PML-N’s Raja Javed Ikhlas in NA-51, Rawalpindi, by a big margin. Ikhlas got 121,067 while Ashraf was far behind with 67,146 votes.
It was a major upset as the PPP was quite confident it would be successful in saving this seat. Ashraf had diverted huge amounts of development funds to the constituency, including those which he got released on the last day of his prime ministership, but these efforts turned out to be in vain.
The reasons of his defeat are many but how many would know that NA-51 is historically a stronghold of PML-N. Ashraf could win from here for the first time in 2002 when PML-N leaders were in exile and later on in 2008, thanks mainly to the sympathy wave for the party after the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Prior to 2002, Ashraf had lost each and every election he had fought against a PML-N candidate.
Just like in many other parts of the country, the PPP’s incumbency fatigue was a major reason for Ashraf’s defeat in NA-51. If PPP was condemned for failing to end power crisis, he was one of those known for worsening it. He earned the unflattering sobriquet of Raja Rental for his alleged involvement in RPP scam and was grilled by the courts endlessly.
The PPP workers say he could not campaign properly as he was not sure till the last moment if he would be allowed to contest. Besides, the PTI candidate in NA-51 was weak, which gave an edge to Ikhlas. Here it was purely a PPP-PML-N contest.
Imran Khan
Perhaps, it is a bit unfair to label him as a flop considering he won handsomely from three of the four constituencies, but PTI chairman Imran Khan lost to PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq in NA-122. He got 84,517 votes against the 93,389 obtained by his opponent. So, he lost by a margin of 8,872. The contest was simply a PTI-PML-N match of wits as the third highest vote clincher in the constituency was PPP’s Barrister Amir Hasan with only 2,833 votes.
The PTI was quite confident about winning the seat. Like Mianwali, NA-122 is also Imran’s home constituency. The famous Zaman Park, where he has spent his file, falls in this constituency.
But Ayaz Sadiq was also a strong candidate who had defeated Imran in the 2002 elections. Imran was supposed to address a gathering here, towards the end of his campaign, but he could not due to his injuries. A lot of people believe his inability to address in the constituency deprived him of 10,000-15,000 votes which would have been decisive. There are others also who believe the PTI chief’s fall had not made a significant difference. They think people had already made up their mind about who to vote for.
Allegations of Election Day rigging abound but these cannot be cited here for the sake of objectivity. However, it’s a fact that had Imran been fit enough to move around in the constituency, the results could well have been different. Javed Hashmi’s statement appears to be quite pertinent here. He revealed to the media that he could avoid defeat only because he sat all day long in the office of the all powerful Returning Officer (RO) in his constituency.
Interestingly, Ayaz had contested for a provincial assembly seat from here from the platform of PTI in 1997.
Anwar Ali Cheema
The results of elections in NA-67 were quite surprising and people could not believe their ears when they heard Anwar Ali Cheema had lost. Cheema had never faced such ignominy from here since 1985 and it seemed the constituency literally belonged to him.
Prior to 2013 elections, he shared the record for winning a National Assembly seat seven consecutive times with Chaudhry Nisar. However, a major difference was that he had not lost even once whereas Nisar had lost a couple of times. The latter would win from any of the multiple constituencies he contested from and secure his seat.
The only plausible reason one can offer is that Cheema suffered due to his party’s alliance with PPP. He blasted this policy and along with other members had demanded of the party leadership to put an end to this alliance. Cheema had defeated Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti in 2008 when the latter contested on PPP ticket and PPP was winning from everywhere. This time Bhatti joined PML-N and defeated Cheema. He got 109,132 votes against Cheema’s 97,631.
It was a clever move on the part of Bhatti, who knew PPP would not field a candidate here and negotiated with PML-N well in time.
Cheema’s supporters claim he would have bagged many more votes even if he had contested as an independent candidate. In that case the rigging which changed the results would not have taken place, they add.
Gilani family of Multan
Very few would disagree with the fact that the family of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilana was the major casualty of 2013 elections. Three sons of Gilani and a brother lost from two NA and two provincial seats.
Gilani had diverted billions of rupees for development projects in the city but even this did not pay back. Reportedly, 27 development projects out of the 29 meant for the uplift of South Punjab were executed. Then, why did the family face its worst ever electoral defeat?
The reasons quoted are simple. For example, the fact that the former PM had been disqualified by the Supreme Court from contesting elections wrought huge damage on the Gilani family’s electoral strength. It is believed the elected representatives are seen as custodians of their rights and interests by their voters. But in Gilani they saw a helpless man who could not defend his premiership, who saw his son dragged out of his car by FIA men while he was ruling the country and one who is overseeing the election campaign from the sidelines.
The incumbent fatigue of PPP, endless loadshedding especially in Punjab, corruption charges against Gilani’s sons etc. were some other reasons which contributed to the family’s rout. In addition to these, PML-N played its cards very well and fielded its candidates judiciously. Sikandar Bosan of PTI was taken into its folds by PML-N weeks before the elections and fielded against Ali Qadir Gilani in NA-151. In fact, this seat was clinched from PTI.
Hanif Abbasi
One can bet Hanif Abbasi would have cursed his stars when PTI Chairman Imran Khan decided to contest from NA-56. It is never easy to contest against a party head and Abbasi knew it from the very start. There are many who believe it was Sheikh Rashid of AML who convinced him for this purpose and tried to settle scores with his arch rival, Abbasi.
Imran Khan secured 80,577 votes against the 67,221 grabbed by Abbasi and won comfortably. The allegations against Abbasi for his alleged involvement in ephedrine scam, infighting within PML-N over distribution of party tickets in the district and the strategic alliance between PTI and AML weakened Abbasi’s position to a great extent.
The PTI had done a lot of hard work in Rawalpindi which helped them clinch three seats — two for itself and one for its ally AML. If Chaudhry Nisar can be defeated from here by a PTI candidate, the defeat of a far less influential Hanif Abbasi at the hand of charismatic PTI chief Imran Khan is perhaps, no big deal.
Independent analysts suggest even though Sheikh Rashid remained isolated for a long time, he was given extraordinary importance by the media. In his solo appearances in talk shows, he would canvass for himself and Imran endlessly and castigate their common opponents, which appears to have paid off.
Pervaiz Elahi (Chakwal)
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi lost from NA-61 in Chakwal where politics revolves more around clans and less around personalities. Many think it became a matter of ego for him to avenge his defeat in the same constituency in 2008 elections. He lost by 432 votes against Faiz Tamman who represented the Tamman clan — the most influential in the constituency. Elahi had announced several mega projects for this constituency when he was the chief minister of Punjab. But all the funds earmarked for this purpose were diverted to other projects by Shahbaz Sharif when he took over. The projects were discontinued as all the credit in case of their completion would have gone to Elahi.
There was a perception among supporters that they will again have to pay the price if they supported Elahi. Secondly, one can say the recent political associations have caused more harm to Chaudhrys of Gujrat than good. Last time they were declared members of Qatil League and routed and this time they had to suffer for joining hands with the same party.
The incumbency factor also played its role and the sitting PML-N MNA Sardar Mumtaz Khan Tamman defeated Elahi by securing 114,282 votes against latter’s 99,373. The PTI candidate obtained 45,892 votes.
Reportedly, there were internal rifts in PML-Q as well — particicularly people within the party who were uncomfortable with the seat adjustment plan between PML-Q and PPP. Elahi had violated the agreement in his case and decided to contest against Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar of PPP in Gujrat.
Ahmed Mukhtar
The simplest reason for Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar’s defeat in NA-105 in Gujrat is that he was pitched against a political heavyweight, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, in his home town. Though Mukhtar also belongs to the same town, his dismal performance as federal minister for power and failure to win the slot of caretaker prime minister, despite intense lobbying, portrayed him as a weak party leader.
Elahi on the other hand showed his muscle by first challenging his candidature for caretaker PM’s slot and then clinching the seat of deputy prime minister.
Chaudhrys and Mukhtar have been regularly contesting against each other for decades but it seemed this time the latter was no match for the former. He could get 10,826 votes against the 78,171 votes secured by his arch rival Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Chaudhry Mubashir Hussain of PML-N polled 64,796 votes and Muhammad Afzal Gondal of PTI got 40,094 votes.
Elahi has carried out many development projects and provided jobs to people in his home constituency. It is his forte, which is why he refused to follow the PPP-PML Q seat adjustment plan in Gujrat.
Manzoor Wattoo
If the PPP, a party which historically has had a very strong presence in Punjab, can be wiped out in the province, then there is little that someone who headed it could have done to survive the onslaught. The irony is that Co-Chairman Asif Zardari had installed Manzoor Wattoo as the party’s Punjab chief for his experience of confronting Sharif bothers. Many believe it was akin to hiring a “doctor” just when the patient was taking his final breaths. He was appointed to the post, against the will of many PPP leaders, when the damage had been done.
He lost to PML-N candidate Muhammad Ajmal Khan from NA-146 Okara-4. He was also a victim of PPP incumbency fatigue as he had comfortably won from the same seat in 2008 elections as an independent candidate. His notoriety for being an opportunist was also capitalized to the hilt by his opponents.
Ghulam Ahmed Bilour
ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour lost to PTI Chairman Imran Khan in NA-1 with a colossal margin. Imran got 90,500 votes whereas Bilour could bag only 24,468. Bilour had won from this home constituency of his four times in the past and even defeated Benazir Bhutto in 1993. But this time there was a totally new turf where it appeared ANP had already surrendered. The party which was the worst victim of terrorist attacks could not campaign freely in a social setting. In this part of the country, people take no time to sever life-long ties with you if you miss attending a wedding or a funeral for whatever reason.
PTI’s popularity wave which was stronger than the sympathy wave for Bilour family, if there was any, was the final nail. The Pashtun community overwhelmingly supported Imran and the right wing voters backed him for his anti-U.S. rhetoric including his plan to order shooting down of drones immediately were he to take over as PM.
Bilour was one of the very few politicians who accepted defeat graciously. He conceded: “People are not satisfied with the incumbent politicians and want a change. They have rejected us and opted for them.”
Asfandyar Wali
If Asfandyar Wali’s mother Begum Nasim Wali Khan is to be believed his son lost from Charsadda NA-7 for a very simple reason — he doesn’t know anything about politics. But looking more closely, there is reason to believe that the ANP got a “terror-torn mandate” in the words of Asfandyar. The party could have been spared of this grace had it boycotted the elections but it defied threats of all types and participated in the democratic process.
Asfandyar lost to JUI-F candidate and secured the third highest number of votes in the constituency. The PTI candidate also fared better than him in his hometown which has remained the hub of Khudai Khidmatgar Movement for long. The label of being a secular-minded party acting on the whims of foreign interests estranged a large number of voters and brought them under the TTP scanner.
Faisal Saleh Hayat
One of the biggest upsets of the recently held elections was the defeat of the presumed ‘invincible’ Faisal Saleh Hayat who contested as an independent candidate from Jhang. Parting ways with PPP over the appointment of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as prime minister, he refused to accept any portfolio in his cabinet. His decision to contest as an independent candidate did save him from the adverse effects of PML-Q’s alliance with PPP but even then he could not save his seat.
Had he been associated with PML-Q, he would not have been able to secure the 80,541 votes which he got against the PML-N’s winning candidate Ghulam Muhammad Ali’s 93,651. His traditional rival Abida Husain was not contesting this time and had introduced her son Syed Abid Husain Imam to politics. Abid got 17,220 votes.
Hayat claims he lost to pre-poll rigging as well as irregularities on the Election Day. He also alleged that Najam Sethi, who is the husband of Abida Husain’s first cousin, used state machinery against him. Hayat is also suspicious of the unexpectedly high turnout in his constituency which he thinks was due to casting of bogus votes.
The allegations will remain allegations till the time they are proven. So, the only plausible reason one can make out is that the PML-N high tide swept the thoroughbred.
Sardar Assef and Khurshid Kasuri
Elections in NA-140 in Kasur district have always been a focus of public attention, mainly because of the presence of certain political heavyweights on the scene. Sardar Assef and Khurshid Kasuri are two veterans who have challenged each other here over decades. Both of them have had the privilege of being foreign minister and wield influence in the constituency.
When both these politicians joined PTI, questions were raised as to who would get the party ticket from this constituency. At that time party leaders would brush aside such questions, saying both of them would not be pitched against each other.
However, differences within the party increased when Assef failed to get the ticket and decided to contest as an independent candidate. He termed Kasuri Musharraf’s man and maligned him as much as he could during the election campaign.
Analysts believe the rift between Kasuri and Assef was the biggest cause of their defeat as they were more focused on causing harm to each other than trying to win the seat. They suffered badly as is evident from the fact that the combined tally of votes they got was even lesser than that of the PML-Q candidate who secured second position.
The final result: Malik Rasheed Ahmed (PML-N) 69,212 votes, Azeem u Deen Zahid (PML-Q) 50,488 votes, Sardar Assef (Independent) 19,150 votes and Khurshid Kasuri (PTI) 30,431 votes.
Assef had won this seat in 2008 and had resigned from the National Assembly seat to join PTI. His objection was that the ticket had been awarded to a “loser.” His supporters reveal he knew it would be next to impossible to win without the support of any main political party. He also knew who his target was and he did whatever he could to see Kasuri knocked out.
Abrarul Haq
PTI Youth Wing President Abrar ul Haq lost to PML- N’s Ahsan Iqbal in NA-117 (Narowal). He got 51,359 votes compared to 95,481 obtained by Ahsan.
Ahsan was a strong candidate who had already won three elections from the constituency and got a lot of development work done in the area. Abrar, who is a popular singer and a philanthropist, was new to politics but had high hopes of victory. It was he who had set up Sughra Shafi Medical Complex, a medical welfare facility in the name of his late mother.
Pre-election predictions had placed Ahsan in a better position viz a viz Abrar, but at the same time, they expected a major upset in the event of a PTI wave. The overall surge in PML-N’s popularity in Punjab and Ahsan’s focus on his constituency worked for him.
Abrar has complained about large scale rigging and he even approached the court for relief. His plea under Article 184 (3) was not accommodated. He was asked to approach the concerned Election Tribunal if he had any grievances about the poll results.
PPP’s other big wigs
There are some other big guns who lost in the recent elections. PPP’s Afzal Chan, Samina Ghurki, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Nazar Gondal, Tasneem Qureshi and Qamar Zaman Kaira to name the obvious. Their story is somewhat similar. They are all PPP leaders from Punjab. They all suffered from PPP’s incumbency fatigue, lack of an effective election campaign and the fact that there was no party leadership at all. The failure of PPP to deliver especially in terms of load-shedding as well as corruption charges against party leaders was a major hindrance for them and most of them lost to PML-N candidates in their constituencies.
In fact, PPP seemed to have surrendered before the elections and was hardly seen campaigning. Its failure to deliver on many counts, inability to improve its governance and its being marked as a preferred target by militants kept it out of the race. The party was wiped out in Punjab and its only saving grace were the handful of seats it could win in Rahimyar Khan district.
