We Were At The PML-N Convention In Islamabad Yesterday & This Is What We Have To Say!

Islamabad does not usually host too many pre-election rallies. Sure, since 2014 we have been forced to host various dharnas but actual political rallies are not particularly our forte. Very often, our neighbour, Rawalpindi takes away most of the jalsas from right under our nose.

But this time, Anjum Aqeel – who has previously represented NA-54 in the National Assembly and who was not given the party ticket last time thanks to the HUGE land grabbing and corruption scandal that had made him more of a liability rather than an asset in 2013 – brought the Sharifs not just to Islamabad but to his very own neighbourhood in the middle of one of the most populated residential sectors of the city, F-11.

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As first timers at any political rally, we tried to take in everything that went down in the The PML-N Convention In Islamabad and by “everything,” I truly mean EVERYTHING!

Based on what we observed, here are the five most important highlights that all of you should know about.

“I Love You Too Islamabad!”

YES! Like every PML-N rally that we’ve seen the senior Sharif speak at during the last couple of months, this time too, he started his address by responding to the applause of his supporters with, “I love you too!”

Vote ko Izzat Dou

An a-political being – if there is one – I had no clue that the Twitter hashtag, #VoteKoIzzatDou is now a full blown song with lyrics and a composition and everything!

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It’s not the most entertaining or inspirational piece of music produced in recent times. However, since it was played over and over again throughout the rally, against my best efforts, it is now stuck in my head. Damn you DJ Butt!

It was MIGHTY Hot but the Crowd was Energized

The temperature in Islamabad was close to 45 degrees yesterday and given that it’s Ramazan, one can assume that many – if not all – the participants were fasting.

Despite this PML-N was able to pull in a decent crowd that remained energized till the end!

Urban Islooites Did Not Show Up

True that there was a sizable crowd, however most of it comprised of citizens from the peri-urban areas surrounding Islamabad.

MNA-hopeful, Anjum Aqeel enjoys a lot of clout in Golra Shareef and the semi-urban areas surrounding sectors F-11 and E-11. This partly explains the huge numbers of participants from “rural” Islamabad.

The negligible presence of urban youth on the other hand indicated that perhaps, PML-N needs to pull up its socks and try to connect with middle class voters who formed a huge part of the voting population in 2013.

Maryam Nawaz Warned Against Rigging and Voter intimidation on 25 July

Maryam Nawaz minced no words when she warned her supporters against possible attempts at rigging and voter intimidation on election day. She urged the participants to go to polls with their mobile cameras in hand to capture possible incidents of malpractice.

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She also threatened opponents that her father would not hesitate to march from Lahore to Islamabad if attempts were made to sideline PML-N in elections 2018.

We’ve also got the highlights captured on camera for you. Click to watch the video below.