The nomination papers of the candidates have been collected for the general elections in 2024. The elections are underway, but in Mianwali, the political atmosphere looks different.

From here, the former prime minister of Pakistan and Founding Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, is in Adiala Jail. Amjad Ali Khan is on judicial remand after being in hiding for several months.

Two National Assembly (NA) and four Provincial Assembly (PA) seats have long been allocated to the Mianwali district. In the last election, the national constituency numbers were NA-95 and NA-96, now renumbered as NA-89 Mianwali One and NA-90 Mianwali Two.

Punjab Assembly constituencies in Mianwali have been assigned numbers from PP-85 to PP-88.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the population of this district comprises 17 lakh 82 thousand 268 people. The total number of registered voters is 10 lakh 68 thousand 522, with five lakh 60 thousand 289 being male voters and five lakh eight thousand 233 being female voters.

The National Constituency NA-89 includes the rural areas of Tehsil Isa Khel and Tehsil Mianwali. This constituency holds significance as it is the hometown of Imran Khan and has been a stronghold of his party for two decades, leading to his election three times from this area.

Imran Khan secured over one lakh 63,000 votes in the previous polls on this seat. His closest rival, Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), received 50 thousand votes.

Here, the Nawab family of Kalabagh and the Shadikhel are well-known political families who have never been exclusively associated with any party, constantly gauging the direction of the political wind.

Political activist Mohammad Ahmad Ali says no political party except PTI has a distinct vote bank or organisation in Mianwali.

In 2008, Malik Amad Khan of the Nawab family was elected here on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ticket due to PTI's boycott. In 2013, this family joined PTI and supported Imran Khan's election campaign. When he vacated this seat, Malik Amad contested the by-election on the PTI ticket but was defeated by Obaidullah Shadikhel.

In the last election, the Nawab family separated from PTI after not getting a ticket and joined the PPP again a few months ago.

This time, Obaidullah Shadikhel initially decided to try his luck from NA-90 Mianwali 2 and was active there for a year. However, he has now decided to contest again from NA-89.

In the event of Imran Khan's disqualification, PTI's Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi and Laima Niazi are candidates from this constituency, while Barrister Umair Niazi is a candidate from Mianwali Two.

These three candidates are participating in the election for the first time. Major (Retd) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhri has emerged as the candidate of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate from this constituency.

NA-90 Mianwali 2 is a constituency based on Tehsil Piplan and Mianwali city. Amjad Ali Khan of PTI won the last two elections here. In 2018, the victory was sealed with a margin of more than one lakh votes. Running against him is Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri of PML-N, who was elected MNA from here in 2008.

Amjad Ali Khan is currently in jail. Therefore, Barrister Umair Khan Niazi has submitted nomination papers for this seat. He will be fielded if Amjad Ali Khan is disqualified from the election.

In NA-90, independent candidates Ali Haider Khan Niazi and Sajjad Ahmed Bhachar have decided to support each other in the national and provincial constituencies. Ali Haider, who has been an MPA twice before, is contesting the NA election for the first time.

Political activist Malik Allah Yar says that in the absence of Amjad Khan, Ali Haider Khan is hoping for the votes of the Watakhel community, but the atmosphere of the constituency is not the same as before. Therefore, PTI is more optimistic.

Among the provincial constituencies, the first constituency of Mianwali consists of PP-85, Tehsil Isa Khel, where most of the Niazi and Khattak tribes are settled. Shadi Khel, Nawab of Kalabagh, and Khawanin of Isa Khel were elected to this seat for a long time.

In 2018, PTI candidate Abdul Rehman Khan defeated PML-N's Amanatullah Shadikhel with a significant majority.

Abdul Rehman Khan is the PTI candidate in the upcoming election as well.

Muhammad Jawad, a resident of Isa Khel, says that if PTI fails to participate as a party in the polls, Amanatullah Shadi Khel will be a strong candidate. He has been an MPA before and holds influence in the area. There is a possibility that Malik Muzammil, from the Nawab family, will be the candidate for the PPP.

Provincial Constituency PP-86, Municipal Committee, consists of rural areas of Daudkhel and Tehsil Mianwali. The mountain divides this constituency into two parts. On one side is the region comprising the Niazi Pathan community; on the other, there are six union councils of the Awan community.

The Rokhri family is considered politically strong in this constituency, but PTI has defeated them twice. In the last two elections, relatively unknown candidates were able to defeat Adil Abdullah Rokhri solely because they were on the PTI ticket.

Here, the vote for any other party is limited, so the competition has traditionally been between PTI and the Rokhri family. In the past, both opposing candidates were mainly from the Niazi community. However, this time, Malik Athar Yar Awan is also in the picture, and he may secure significant votes from the community.

On this seat, Tauqeer-ul-Husnain, Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) leader, came third last time and is also a candidate this time. However, tough competition is expected between PTI and the independent candidate Adil Abdullah Rokhri.

The PA PP-87 consists of Mianwali city and adjoining South Eastern Union Councils, where Watakhel (a sub-branch of the Niazi tribe) and the Bhachar community are the majority. Ahmad Khan Bhachar of PTI won the last two elections from here.

In 2013, Ahmed Khan Bhachar defeated PML-N's former MPA Ali Haider Noor Niazi. In 2018, the general election could not be held in this constituency due to the death of a candidate. Later, Ahmed Khan was elected unopposed in the by-election.

Political activist Saleem Akhtar Khan says that despite the party's decision in the 2018 elections, Ali Haider has lost the confidence of the PML-N leadership by not contesting the polls. So, he is less likely to get party tickets.

"Since Ali Haider Noor belongs to the largest community of this constituency, 'Watakhel,' and the MNA of this community, Amjad Ali Khan, is in jail, he decided to contest the MNA election from this constituency and has joined forces with independent provincial hopeful Sajjad Bhachar on this seat."

There are also reports that this time, the PML-N will field Inamullah Niazi, an MNA in 1997, as a candidate for this seat. If PTI decides to issue a ticket to a lawyer, then Malik Pervaiz Iqbal will be the candidate.

Provincial Constituency PP-88 consists of Tehsil Piplan, where the Baloch and Joiya families compete. Sardar Sibtain Khan of PTI has defeated Malik Muhammad Feroz Joiya twice on this seat. This is the only constituency in Mianwali where the aftershocks of May 9 did not reach. Therefore, tough competition between these two candidates is also expected this time.

Supporters of PTI claim that the party will sweep all seats in Mianwali as before. However, the final decision on which candidate the voters support will be revealed on February 8.