ANP veteran Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour is facing challenge from new faces on the National Assembly constituency NA-31 comprising of urban areas of city. Before new delimitation the constituency was known as NA-1 and Member of National Assembly from it was an honour to be on serial No.1 in the parliament. Under the latest delimitations this honour has gone to National Assembly from Chitral. The senior politician had even moved judiciary for reclaiming of the status for the provincial metropolis.
Since 1988, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has contested all elections except the general elections of 2002 from the constituency due to the lack of the qualification of graduation and the poll was contested by his nephew late Usman Bilour.
Till the general elections of 2008, the constituency used to be considered a stronghold of ANP and PPP as the candidates of both parties were used to be elected from it turn-by-turn. However, first time the candidate of then religio-political alliance and chairman PTI Imran ended the electoral domination of the two political parties on the constituency.
In the general elections of 2013, the PTI chief Imran Khan outclassed the senior politician with huge lead of over 50,000 votes. The PTI chief vacated the seat and kept the National Assembly seat from Rawalpindi. The decision of the PTI was rejected by the electorates by defeating his candidate. However, unlike the general elections, Bilour was the combined candidate of ANP-PPP.
In past those who had contested from the constituency are included Yousaf Khattak, Younas Elahi Sethi, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Shabir Ahmad Khan.
This time, candidates fielded by all political parties against him are young and new faces. PTI awarded ticket to Haji Shaukat Ali, a former PPP affiliated town nazim. Malik Nadeem is the candidate of PML-N, Saddiq-ur-Rehman Paracha is contesting on MMA ticket while Irfanullah Shah, a former PTI office bearer is PPP candidate from the constituency.
According to some political observers, the incomplete Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project is badly affecting the popularity of PTI in the KP provincial metropolis while PPP has also made some enroots due to the joining of the senior PTI leaders like former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi and Irfanullah Shah.
Furthermore, the provincial assembly candidate also play crucial role in soliciting support for the National Assembly candidate. The constituency has three provincial seats PK-76, PK-77 and PK-78 where a neck and neck contest is expected on all of them. In last elections PTI had a clean sweep on all of them.
On PK-76, ANP has fielded former provincial minister Haji Hidayatullah, PTI has introduced a new face Asif Khan, Malik Nadeem of PML-N, MMA has yet to final candidate while PPP has awarded ticket to former PTI MPA-Minister Ziaullah Afridi.
In PK-77, ANP has awarded ticket to Haji Mohammad Omar Mohmand, Khairul Bashar (MMA), Zulfikar Afghani (PPP) while both PTI and PML-N have flouted new faces Kamran Bangash and Hassan Mahmood Jan respectively.
Similarly, PK-78, which comprises of congested populated area of the city PPP has field its former provincial president and health minister in ANP-PPP coalition government, while Haroon Bashir Bilour is ANP candidate, Haji Ghulam Ali (MMA) while PTI has introduced new face Irfan Khan.