Ummat report
Sheikh Rasheed’s double game has not only fallen on his neck, but the worst possible defeat of the seat of Rawalpindi has arisen.
Sheikh Rasheed has been contesting elections from his native seat NA 156 of Lal Haveli Rawalpindi for the last forty years (the numbering of this constituency has been changing in different periods) on very few occasions he has faced defeat in this seat. fell But they always get these victories because of someone’s backing. Sometimes he had the shoulder of Zia-ul-Haq. Sometimes Musharraf got a crutch and then he took the support of Tehreek-e-Insaaf. Whenever Sheikh Rasheed was deprived of a support or a crutch, defeat was his destiny. Now once again they are facing a similar situation that they have to fight the February 8 election without any crutch.
It should be noted that Tehreek-e-Insaf has fielded two of its candidates in Rawalpindi’s Constituency NA Chhappan and Satwan while refusing seat adjustment with Sheikh Rasheed. Shehr Yar Riaz of PTI is contesting against Sheikh Rashid from Constituency NA 15 and Seemabiya Tahir of PTI against his nephew Sheikh Rashid from NA 75. Thus, there is a strong possibility of uncle-nephew defeat in these two constituencies. Because they have won the last two elections with the support of PTI.
In the last general election, his nephew had contested on a regular PTI ticket. Thus, being kicked by PTI is no less than a shock for the Sheikh of Rawalpindi. Expressing this shock, he has said, “I am saddened that the person who served as a minister for seventeen times was not considered worthy to be given a ticket by some people.” “People who came from London and America on a dark night flight got tickets.”
Before this dubious statement, Sheikh Rasheed had set records of begging for PTI’s support. The seventeen-time minister even took the knee of the accidental chairman of Tehreek-e-Insaf, Barrister Gauhar, who was politically unknown before joining the PTI. On the other hand, Sheikh Rasheed tried till the last day to sell that he is the biggest loyalist of Imran Khan and for that he had to cut challah. But this choran of Sheikh Rashid could not be sold.
PTI stopped the fight by allotting tickets to its candidates on these two constituencies of Rawalpindi. On the cold evening of January 12, a dejected Sheikho quietly withdrew his nomination papers from NA Seventeen. Earlier, he was preparing to contest elections from both the constituencies in the hope that PTI would support him like in the past. But if this could not be done, now he has decided to contest from only one constituency NA Chappan and from NA Seven he will fight his nephew.
Why did Sheikh Rasheed’s efforts fail? In this regard, PTI insiders say that the interview given by Sheikh Rasheed to a private TV channel after cutting the challah. All its details were conveyed to the jailed Imran Khan and the founder PTI was very angry about it. Although Sheikh Rasheed tried to make this interview balanced towards him. During the interview, he apparently condemned the events of May 9 and told how he used to convince Imran Khan not to make rhetoric against the institutions and on the other hand, he kept expressing his friendship with Imran Khan.
He tried to kill two birds with one arrow i.e. to convince the establishment and also not to anger Imran Khan so that the crutch of PTI is available to him in the election. But his double game flopped badly.
According to sources, Imran Khan had decided a few weeks ago that now is the time to get rid of Sheikho. He was furious with some parts of Sheikh Rasheed’s interview. However, the lawyers who met with him did not want Sheikh Rasheed to be given an open field in Rawalpindi this time. So Imran Khan sidelined Sheikh Rashid and his nephew Sheikh Rashid and gave the green signal to field his candidates. Thus, on the election day, both political orphans, uncle and nephew, will be shouting “Vote de do, vote de do”.
Political analysts say that all the benefits of this tussle between Sheikh Rasheed and PTI will go to the Non-League candidates in these two constituencies. Both will cut each other’s votes. The Non-League has fielded Daniyal Chaudhry and Hanif Abbasi from these two constituencies. In the current situation, his chances of winning have increased.