MULTAN City News

NA-153 by-polls

PML-N, PTI yet to announce candidates

From Nadeem Shah

MULTAN: Only the Pakistan People’s Party has finalised its candidate for NA-153 (Multan-IV) by-polls scheduled to be held on March 17 while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf have yet to decide their candidates.

Sources said that the PTI was earlier considering to award a ticket to former MPA Ghulam Abbas Khakhi but the leadership changed its mind and would now likely to award a ticket to Rana Qasim Noon. The sources claimed that Qasim Noon also tried to get a PML-N ticket for the by-polls but later reviewed his decision as his political rivals, including Dewan Ashiq Bukhari, belonged to the PML-N. Qasim Noon had joined the PTI after facing defeat in the 2013 general elections on a PPP ticket. He had joined the PTI in the presence of party national organiser Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Qasim Noon, while talking to The News, claimed that he would contest the by-elections on a PTI ticket. When contacted, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf national organiser Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said: “There are rumors that Rana Qasim Noon has held meetings with the PML-N leaders but we still consider him as our part and parcel.” He said that the PTI had interviewed several candidates for the by-elections. He said that the recommendations had been forwarded to PTI chairman Imran Khan and he would soon announce the name of a candidate.

According to a PTI press release, the party held a meeting on Monday and Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi held consultation with former MPAs Ibrahim Khan, Malik Ghulam Abbas Khakhi, Malik Muhammad Bakhsh Laang and Malik Salim Haider Channar for finalising the candidate. He also talked to landlord Malik Ayyub Ghalo on phone.

The PTI delegation under the leadership of Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi would submit a party candidate ticket to the ECP Multan office on February 25.

Sources said that the PML-N was likely to allot a ticket to disqualified MNA Dewan Ashiq Bukhari’s son Dewan Syed Muhammad Abbas Bokhari. On the other hand, the PPP has awarded ticket to party district president Malik Akram Kanhun.

Talking to The News, former PM Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said that that the PPP would not accept turncoats in the party. Earlier, addressing a workers convention in NA-153, Gilani criticised the politics of Dewan Ashiq Bokhari, Syed Javed Ali Shah and Rana Qasim Noon. He said that the PPP had awarded a ticket party district president Malik Akram Kanhun.

The seat fell vacant after an election tribunal disqualified PML-N MNA Dewan Ashiq Bokhari for possessing fake educational certificates on October 17, 2014. A Supreme Court bench also upheld the verdict of the election tribunal.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan statistics, Dewan and Noon families have changed their loyalties at least thrice in the past elections.

PML-N candidate Dewan Ashiq Bokhari had won the slot in 2013 general elections by securing 94,413 votes while PPP candidate Rana Qasim Noon obtained 90,179 votes and PTI candidate Saeed Khursheed Ahmad obtained 18,155 votes.

In 2008 general elections, Dewan Syed Ashiq Hussain Bokhari won the slot on a PML-Q ticket. He defeated PML-N candidate Dewan Syed Jaffar Hussain, PPP candidate Dewan Syed Haider Abbas Bokhari and independent candidate Rana Qasim Noon.

In 2002 general elections, Dewan Syed Jaffar Hussain Bokhari of the PML-N won the slot by securing 57,209 votes. Rana Qasim Noon of the PML-Q got 55,395 votes while PPP candidate Syed Najaf Hussain Shah obtained 24,560 votes.