Annual election campaign of Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), for 2009-10 has failed to pick up the moment as polling is scheduled to be held on February 28, and usually at this time the campaign had touched its peak but no candidate has come forward so far to challenging Professional Group candidate, former justice, M A Shahid Siddiqui.
Justice Siddiqi was one of the judges who had refused to take oath under Musharraf's November 3, 2007 PCO. He retired couple of months back during his sacking. He stood steadfast against all odds as government used all means to change his loyalties towards Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
It is learnt that the lawyers' movement has changed the priority of lawyers' politics, and no anti-movement candidate has succeeded in election at any level of the bar. From Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to the district bar associations, only those candidates are elected who are affiliated with Professional Group and have been participating actively in the movement. It is to be remembered that an anti-movement candidate faced a historical defeat in the previous LHCBA election, and now no one was ready to contest the election against a strong candidate like Justice Siddiqi (Retd).
Munawar Iqbal Gondal, Babar A Khilji, Mian Jamil Akhter and Rana Aqeel Nasir are fighting for the office of vice president. Munawar has got the backing PML-N however he might face a challenge from Khilji.
Rabbiya Bajwa and Muqtadir Akhter Shabbir are vying for the slot of secretary. Rabbiya had enjoyed finance secretary seat three years ago but this year she is up against a potential candidate Muqtadir Shabbir. However, with the support of Professional Group Rabbiya could easy turn the table on her opponents. Aneela Cheema and Rai Nawaz Kharal are the only two candidates for the office of finance secretary.