Award of ANP tickets for polls

MARDAN: Awami National Party (ANP) provincial President Ameer Haider Hoti along with district level office-bearers has started visiting the houses of the disgruntled candidates who weren’t allotted tickets to persuade them to support party candidate in the next general election, sources said. They added that majority of the candidates who were not allotted ANP tickets for the upcoming general election, were unhappy with the party leadership and some had reportedly decided o quit the ANP.

Ameer Haider Hoti along with district level office-bearers and local leaders visited the houses of the annoyed aspirants of party tickets in a bid to convince them to support ANP candidates in the upcoming general election. The sources added that Haider Hoti didn’t succeed in convincing the unhappy candidates to accept the party decision about allotment of tickets for taking part in the polls.

Himayatullah Mayar, who is district president of the party and District Nazim of Mardan, was allotted ticket to run for PK-25. The sources said that Member Provincial Assembly Ahmed Khan Bahadur, Ameer Farzand Khan who is brother of late provincial minister Ghani Dad Khan, and Shah Faisal Khan, son of late lawmaker Sufaid Khan, had also submitted applications for party ticket for the same seat.

Haider Hoti had reportedly promised Ahmed Khan Bahadur that he will be awarded the ticket for PK-25.

It is said that Haider Hoti had also made a commitment with Ameer Farzand Khan after the death of his brother Ghani Dad Khan that he would be given the party ticket.

Sources close to Ahmed Khan Bahadur said that his family elders and supporters had started pressuring him to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to contest the upcoming election from PK-24 or PK-25.

The sources added that a few months ago Himayatullah Mayar had allegedly used harsh words on the social media against the family of Ahmed Khan Bahadur, who was urged afterwards by his family and supporters to quit the ANP and join some other political party for contesting the polls.