Sleeves have been rolled up and the atmosphere electrified, as canvassing reaches its peak in the elections for the coveted slot of the Lahore Gymkhana Club chairman, Pakistan Today has learnt. A total of 4,800 members have been registered at one of the most traditional and prestigious clubs and will elect a 12-member committee of management. Per the past trend only 50 percent of the registered members cast their votes to elect 12 members who elect a chairman from amongst themselves after the elections are complete. Historically, two groups have struggled to dominate the political scene of the prestigious club. One group has traditionally included landlords, politicians and businessmen, while the other has been dominated by civil servants. The former was formed by Nawab Qazalbash who remained the chairman in the 50s and 60s followed by Sardar Ahmad Ali who remained chairman for three years. Moreover, since 1980 up till 2011 only two non-government servants have remained chairman, former governor Khawaja Tariq Raheem and renowned businessman Misbaurrehman, who is the incumbent chairman and once again a contender for the coveted slot this year. Prominent people among the 12 members on Misbah’s panel include a landlord Mian Pervaiz Bhandara, Customs Collector Sumaira Nazeer and businessman Khwaja Imran Zubair. On the other hand former federal secretary Ziaurrehman is in the race for the slot and has prominent supporters including former interior secretary Tasneem Durrani, former chairman CDA Fareedudin Ahmad and former chief secretary Pervaiz Masud. However, electioneering is in full swing. “These elections are more like the Lahore Chamber of Commerce elections and not like the general elections…dinners are being thrown, letters are written and even mobile text messaging is being used,” a contestant seeking anonymity told Pakistan Today. He further said that both bureaucrats and businessman are present in both panels traditionally, however the difference is that one is always headed by a civilian while the other by a government servant.
