LAHORE (Dunya News) - As it was expected after Ramazan and Eid holidays, political temperature will soar in the country with PTI and JUI-F countrywide campaign against what they call a rigged election, and more importantly by-polls on April 21 (today).
All eyes are on NA-119 Lahore-III, NA-132 Kasur-II and four PA seats - PP-147, PP-149, PP-158 and PP-164 as PM Shehbaz, CM Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz and IPP Aleem Khan have left these seats.
Though the result of today’s by-polls may not involve a number game in any house as governments in provinces and Centre have comfortable majority of their seats, even then the outcome of these elections, particularly in Lahore and Kasur have a symbolic importance as these seats have been vacated by political stalwarts like Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Aleem Khan and Hamza Shehbaz Sharif.
People are eager to know that the men of these political bigwigs may be able to retain their vacated seats or lose to their arch-rival Sunni Itehad Council (SIC), whose candidates contested in general elections independently with the support of PTI.
In the perspective of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s activism and a host of people-friendly projects, the result of the by-elections will reflect the voters’ mood if they acknowledge her performance in Punjab.
Talking to Dunya News, a female voter of PP-147 said, “I think Punjab CM is quite active and she took amazing steps for people’s welfare. To my opinion, her active role in public service may impact voters.”
In PP-147, a shopkeeper, Waseem Nizami of Naulakha Bazaar, told Dunya News that people are fed up with the politics of confrontation.
“It is a wrong behaviour that all rulers are corrupt except the founder of the PTI. They think only the PTI government could overcome the crisis and the country will progress when the PTI comes to power.
I think they should give up this behaviour and let the current government work because the country is already facing crisis.”
Talking to Dunya News, a PTI worker said, “The result of general elections showed young and new voters are with the PTI-backed candidates.
The mood of the voters has not changed. They are still with the candidates of Sunni Itehad Council.
They will go to polling stations and vote their candidates silently as they did in general elections.”
NA-119 Lahore-III
All eyes are on this constituency as it has been vacated by Maryam Nawaz.
She won from this constituency by bagging 83,855 votes whereas PTI-backed independent candidate Shehzad Farooq got 68,376 votes and stood second. Muhammad Zaheer of TLP won 30,525 votes and remained third in the race.
Current main parties’ candidates for NA-119
Ali Pervaiz Malik of the PML-N and Shahzad Farooq of Sunni Ittehad Council are prominent among nine other candidates.
NA-132 Kasur-II
This seat was vacated by Shehbaz Sharif who won from this constituency by taking 137,231 and PTI-backed independent candidate Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar got 111,116 and stood second in the election whereas TLP candidate Faqeer Hussain got 22,245 votes and stood third in the competition.
Current main parties’ candidates
In NA-132 Kasur-II, Malik Rasheed Ahmad of PML-N and Muhammad Hussain Dogar of PTI are main parties’ candidates and a tough contest is expected in this constituency.
Punjab Assembly seats
PML-N nominee Malik Riaz and SIC candidate Muhammad Khan Madani are competing in PP-147.
As many as 14 candidates, including Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui and Qaiser Shehzad from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, are contesting in PP-149.
In PP-158, there are 22 candidates, with PML-N Chaudhry Nawaz and Moonis Elahi of Sunni Unity Council among them.
In PP-149, Aleem Khan of IPP got 51,756 votes, Zeeshan Rasheed got 47998 and TLP got 15905 votes.
In PP-147, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif of PML-N got 51,838 votes, Muhammad Khan Madni PTI-backed independent candidate got 46,449 votes and Azam Waheed TLP got 17,033 votes.
In PP-158, PML-N Shehbaz Sharif got 38642 votes, Yousaf Ali PTI-backed candidate got 23,847 votes and Majid Munir of TLP got 11,744 votes.
PP-164 Shehbaz Sharif of PML-N got 27,099 votes, Yousaf Mayo of PTI-backed candidate got 25,919 votes and Amjad Naeem of TLP got 7129 votes.
In PP-164 has 20 candidates with PML-N Rashid Minhas and Muhammad Yusuf of the Sunni Ittehad Council among the contenders.