A COMBINATION of clout, trade and industry and spiritual influence tempered with sectarian divisions these are the influences that largely define the electoral politics of Jhang.

Between all these, political parties try to carve out space for themselves by roping in the so-called electables landlords, pirs, wealthy traders and even known zealots to shore up their electoral chances.

According to veteran politician Faisal Saleh Hayat, parties don`t matter that much in Jhang.

`Parties win or lose elections here on the strength of what you call electables and their local networks. Political parties do exist, but only on the margins,` he tells me as a crowd of local villagers, biradari elders and political hangers-on from his constituency await an audience with him before he leaves the Makhdoom House in Shah Jeewana for a door-to-door election campaign.

`The ground realities in the constituency are far removed from our elitist, western concepts of democracy,` he scoffs.

No wonder then, that the PML-N which had lost all three National Assembly seats from the district to the PTI in 2018 and was unable to find any strong candidate from within the party for the 2024 polls-has recently embraced Mr Hayat, the custodian of the shrine of Shah Jeewana and Mohammad Asif Moavia, a religious leader known for his extreme views, anti-Shia rhetoric and links with the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), to shore up its electoral chances on February 8.

An influential landlord, pir and industrialist all rolled into one, Faisal Saleh Hayathas won the rural Shah Jeewana constituency six times since 1977. Moavia, meanwhile, has a significantly large sectarian vote-bank in Shorkot. Both of them, then were the ideal choice for the Nawaz League in its quest for electables to retake the district.

Though less savoury than Saleh Hayat`s inclusion, but Moavia`s induction into the PML-N didn`t surprise anyone as the party had always maintained a close link with the successive incarnations of the outlawed SSP, originally founded as the Anjuman Sipah-i-Sahaba (ASS) by its slain leader Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in 1985, with alleged financial support from a Gulf country, as a militant anti-Shia outfit.

Both Saleh Hayat and Moavia are believed to have significantly improved the PML-N`s chances in the electoral races in the district.

Hayat had lost the previous election on a PPP ticket to PTPs Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan, another pir linked with Sultan Bahu`s shrine in Garth Maharaja, with a tiny margin of less than 600 votes.

Both are now set for another showdown next week, with the PTI backing Mehboob Sultan.

Likewise, Moavia, who claims to have renounced antiShia militancy and the SSP, had polled more than 71,200 votes in 2018, significantly improving on his 2013 tally of 37,794 votes, but still lost to PTPs Ameer Sultan, who bagged nearly 91,100 votes, in 2018. Both are again in contention for the same seat.

The third Jhang (city) seat NA-109 (previously NA-115) is being contested by Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi, the chief of Rah-e-Haq, the latest incarnation of the SSP. Jhangvi`s son, Masroor Nawaz, whosevictory in a 2016 by-poll for a provincial assembly seat from Jhang city had shocked the country, is again in the run for the same seat under Ludhianvi, but as an independent candidate.

There are credible reports that Ludhianvi and Masroor had allegedly conspired to get Azam Tarig`s papers rejected on allegations of his link with the SSP. Moavia, whose father Azam Tariq led the SSP after Jhangvi`s murder and was elected as member of the 2002 National Assembly, is believe d to have his differences with Ludhianvi. Azam Tariq was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 2018 and had filed nomination papers against Ludhianvi from the Jhang city constituency.

Ludhianvi, whose participation in the last elections was ensured after his name was removed from the terror watch list just like Masroor`s name was taken out of the Fourth Schedule list after his election finds himself pitted against Sheikh Waqqas Akram, who is being backedby the PTL Both Ludhianvi and Akram have a strong vote-bank in the constituency. The former was a runner up with nearly 69,000 votes against PTI`s Ghulam Bibi Bharwana in 2018 and had polled over 72,000 votes against the PML-N`s Sheikh Mohammad Akram, Waqqas` father, in 2013.

Waqqas had obtained close to 60,800 votes in the 2018 elections. This time, the PML-N has fielded Sheikh Yaqoob, who is thought to be a weaker candidate as compared to Ludhianvi and Waqas.

The SSP has successfully managed to build a strong vote-bank in Jhang, which had been a hotbed of anti-Shia sectarian violence since the mid 1980s to until a few yearsback, taking advantage of a rapid rise of small traders and shop owners and innux of industrial labour to the urban areas of Jhang.

The SSP leadership has been contesting elections from the city since 1988 when Haq Nawaz lost to Begum Abida Hussain.

Azam Tariq won the national constituency twice:1993 and 2002. In 1993, the SSP also won two Punjab Assembly seats and one of its members was appointed as adviser to the chief minister for supporting Manzoor Wattoo`s minority coalition government in the province.

The new incarnation of the SSP has also developed pockets of electoralsupport across Punjab and its local organisations had supported PML-N candidates in 2013 across the province.

How Jhang will vote and who will wear its crown next week depends on the ability of the PTI to mobilise its support in the district on polling day.

Until then, the PML-N and Rah-e-Haq seem to be leading the race.1993 and 2002. In 1993, the SSP also won two Punjab Assembly seats and one of its members was appointed as adviser to the chief minister for supporting Manzoor Wattoo`s minority coalition government in the province.

The new incarnation of the SSP has also developed pockets of electoralsupport across Punjab and its local organisations had supported PML-N candidates in 2013 across the province.

How Jhang will vote and who will wear its crown next week depends on the ability of the PTI to mobilise its support in the district on polling day.

Until then, the PML-N and Rah-e-Haq seem to be leading the race.