Maliks yet to win on NA-120

LAHORE: An interesting fact related to the NA-120 constituency is that one family, the Malik family, contesting here could not win the seat since 1977, whereas, the other, Sharif family, could not be defeated for nearly last three decades.

At present, the constituency NA-120 is witnessing by-poll after the disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PML-N has fielded Begum Kulsoom Nawaz as candidate for the seat. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has fielded Dr Yasmin Rashid for the seat who was the runner-up in 2013 general elections against Nawaz Sharif with over 50, 000 votes.

Begum Kulsoom Nawaz is the fourth member of the Sharif family who is contesting from this area and third who is contesting the NA election as prior to her, Nawaz Sharif, her husband, had won all the times from there, in 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2013. Another close relative of Sharif family, Ishaq Dar, has also won from the NA seat in 1993 by-polls. Mian Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Mian Nawaz Sharif, also made his election debut from the same area in 1988 polls while winning from a provincial seat (then PP-122 which used to fall under the then NA-95 and now NA-120).

However, Sharif family isn’t the only family who has contested polls from there but the family of Dr Yasmin Rashid, the present contestant on PTI ticket, has also been contesting polls since 1970 from this area.

Since 1990, this is the fifth contest of Maliks from this area and PTI workers believe they will cause an upset now but with the emergence of Nawaz Sharif-led Muslim League, this family couldn’t win either NA or the PP seat. On the other hand, PML-N camp looks quite optimistic of defending the seat again.

In 1970 and 1977, Malik Ghulam Nabi, father-in-law of Dr Yasmin Rashid, remained victorious and also served as provincial minister for education in the cabinet of Hanif Ramay and Malik Meraj Khalid.

In 1990, PPP awarded ticket to his son Shahid Nabi Malik from the then PP-122 but he lost to Islami Jamhuri Ittehad’s Haji Mohammed Sharif who got around 22,000 votes and Malik bagged around 15,000 on PPP ticket. In the 1993 general elections, Shahid Nabi Malik also contested on PPP ticket and got over 15,000 votes but couldn’t win the seat as the PML-N ticket holder Sheikh Anwar Saeed emerged victorious while getting around 26,000 votes from the then PP-122. Malik also contested a by-poll on the National Assembly seat, the then NA-95, vacated by Nawaz Sharif in 1993 but Ishaq Dar won from here.

This family remained out of election politics for the next decade but after 2010 when Dr Yasmin Rashid, a former flag bearer of Pakistan Medical Association, joined PTI and was awarded ticket from NA-120. She lost the poll with a margin of around 40, 000 votes but the results were rejected by PTI amid severe rigging charges on PML-N. The winner from this constituency in 2013 polls, who was none other than Nawaz, got around 92,000 votes whereas  PTI candidate Dr Yasmin emerged runner-up with over 52, 000 votes. For the first time, a runner-up got that number of votes against Sharifs.