FAISALABAD, Oct 6: The ruling PML candidates wore crowns in most of the districts in Punjab, but the opposition nominees chipped in with some coveted positions much to the surprise of political circles and the public at large.
ARD-backed Rana Zahid Tauseef, the brother of PML-N MNA Rana Asif, was elected Faisalabad City District Nazim by defeating ruling party MNA Ghulam Rasool Sahi, brother of Punjab Assembly Speaker Muhammad Afzal Sahi, by a margin of 230 votes.
Mr Tauseef obtained 1,865 votes while Ghulam Sahi could get 1,635.
The ruling party, however, showed its potential at the town level by winning six of the eight nazim seats.
In Madina Town, PML’s Chaudhry Ali Akhtar Khan, brother of Punjab Communication and Works Minister Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan, was elected nazim with 382 votes. His ARD-backed opponent Zulfiqar Ali bagged 128 votes.
Lyallpur Town: Young politician Rana Zahid Mahmood won the nazim seat by securing 243 votes against 221 of ARD’s Zafar Iqbal Nagra.
Iqbal Town: The nazim position went to the ruling PML’s Sajjad Haider Cheema, son of former tehsil nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema and nephew of Federal Textile Minister Mushtaq Ali Cheema, who bagged a record 462 votes. ARD-backed Khalid Saeed Gill could get only 64 votes.
Tandlianwala Town: Former tehsil nazim Ali Gauhar Baloch of the PML won the election with 217 votes, while ARD’s Chaudhry Muneer bagged only 120 votes.
Samundri Town: The results were not much different in Samundri Town where the PML-backed candidate Shahnawaz was elected nazim by securing 210 votes. ARD’s Rana Farooq Saeed Khan could get only 151 votes.
Chak Jhumra Town: Former tehsil nazim Fawad Ahmad Cheema of the PML was elected nazim for the second time by getting 140 votes while his opponent (ARD candidate) could obtain only 47.
Jaranwala Town: ARD candidate Akram Chaudhry, a former provincial minister, got 285 against ruling party nominee Muneer Ahmad, cousin of federal minister Wasi Zafar, who could get 276. Former tehsil nazim Rana Abdul Rehman was supported by 120 voters.
Jinnah Town: The nazim’s slot was captured by ARD candidate Shahzad Malik, brother of PML-N MPA Nawaz Malik, with 295 votes. PML’s Raja Adnan Tariq, son of ex-serviceman Tariq Pervaiz, managed to get 171 votes.
GUJRAT: Chaudhry Shafaat Husain, a younger brother of Shujaat Husain, was again elected Gujrat district nazim with a huge margin. The Shujaat group candidates also captured all three tehsil slots.
Chaudhry Shafaat obtained 1,182 votes while his opponent Nawabzada Tahirul Mulk bagged only 201 votes.
The Gujrat tehsil nazim slot was once again captured by Chaudhry Saadat Nawaz Ajnala by taking 656 votes against Asghar Paswal’s 114.
An armed clash between the two groups, led by Nadeem Kaira and Noorul Hassan Shah, was also reported at a Kharian polling station. The clash reportedly began when the family and supporters of Nadeem Kaira claimed that he had won the election by 13 votes.
A spokesman for the Shah family alleged that the Kairas did all this to give the impression of rigging. He said how it was possible that the polling stopped at 4:00pm and the Kairas claimed victory after 20 minutes. Later, he claimed that Noor Shah had won by 250 votes.
The Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil was again taken over by former nazim Chaudhry Abdur Rahman by a margin of 12 votes. The opponent candidate was ex-MPA Malik Hanif Awan.
The PML made a clean sweep also in Jhelum district. Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf was again elected district head by taking 509 votes against Raja Iqbal Mehdi’s 136. Ghulam Zumurd Ahmad was elected Jhelum tehsil nazim by getting 142 votes while former tehsil nazim Chaudhry Khadim Husain Garmala took 65 votes.
Chaudhry Javed, the brother of Chief Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad and federal minister Chaudhry Shahbaz, had already been elected unopposed tehsil nazim of Dina.
In Pind Dadan Khan, Abid Ashraf Jotana was elected tehsil nazim by taking 159 votes while Raja Nasir Iqbal got only 38 votes. Chaudhry Aftab was elected Sohawa tehsil nazim by obtaining 92 votes while Raja Awais Khalid took only 17 votes.
SARGODHA: The ruling PML came off with flying colours in this district as well by winning seats of the Sargodha district and all tehsil nazims.
According to unofficial results, Sheikh Inamul Haq Piracha was elected district nazim by getting 1,360 votes while his close contestant — MMA nominee Malik Mehmood Husain Awan — got 521 votes.
The contest for Sargodha tehsil nazim was very close and PML-backed Malik Shoaib Awan won the election by securing 335 votes against his PPP rival Mirza Muhammad Ilyas’ 323 — a margin of 12 votes. MMA nominee Haji Javed Iqbal Cheema could get only 96 votes.
Bhalwal Tehsil: PML’s Imtiaz Ahmad Bhirth secured 204 votes and was elected tehsil nazim. His rival Nauman Ahmad Mohota of the PPP bagged 161 votes.
Kotmomin Tehsil: Ruling party-backed Bakhtiar Ahmad Mela got 163 votes and was elected tehsil nazim. His close contestant, Zafar Midhiana (PPP), bagged 90 votes and independent hopeful Mazhar Ahmad Ranjha, brother of Punjab Colonies Minister Manazir Ali Ranjha, could get only 12 votes.
Sillanwali Tehsil: Chaudhry Farrukh Javed Ghuman bagged record 138 votes and his sole opponent, Abid Sultan Bhatti, only 40.
Sahiwal Tehsil: Sardar Ghulam Asghar Lahri was elected Sahiwal tehsil nazim for the second consecutive term by bagging 108 votes against 61 secured by his opponent, Sardar Akhtar Husain Baloch, a nominee of Mian Mazhar Ahmad Qureshi.
Shahpur Tehsil: Sardar Fateh Khan Meikan was elected Shahpur tehsil nazim by obtaining 196 votes. His opponent Mian Muhammad Ilyas Qureshi bagged 84 votes.
As for Bhakkar, Hamid Akbar Niwani was voted to power for the second consecutive term by bagging 349 votes and his close rival Aleemullah Shahani fell short of the score.
Bhakkar tehsil: Malik Amjad Kuhawar was elected tehsil nazim by obtaining 152 votes.
Mankera Tehsil: Malik Asghar Iqbal, a nominee of PML’s Niwani group, bagged 50 votes and was elected tehsil nazim while his rival, Rafaqat Husain, could get 33 votes.
Darya Khan Tehsil: Niwani group’s Ghulam Raza Kuhawar bagged 65 votes and was elected tehsil nazim. He rival Shahid Niazi could get 33 votes.
Kallur Kot Tehsil: The crown for the tehsil went to Abdul Jabbar Abbasi of the same group. Mr Abbasi has been elected tehsil nazim for the second term by securing 60 votes while his rival, Shahzad Hassan, bagged 56 votes.
In Khushab, Tiwana group-backed Ghulam Muhammad Tiwana, elder brother of former district nazim Ehsanullah Tiwana, was elected district nazim by receiving 240 votes, according to unofficial results.
He has defeated Sardar Shuja Baloch by a margin of 100 votes. Mr Baloch was well supported by Federal Tourism Minister Sumera Awan, who started her campaign in the first phase of elections along with the Tiwana group but soon they parted ways.
Khushab Tehsil: Awam group nominee Ghulam Rasool Salhal bagged 231 votes and was elected Khushab tehsil nazim. His rival Mukhtar Awan of Tiwana group could get 104 votes and Haroon Bandial of Sumera group only 118 votes.
Noorpur Thal Tehsil: Saeed Rasool Salhal of the Sumera group and Advocate Tahir Raza Baghoor of the Tiwana group bagged 60 votes each.
SIALKOT: Ruling PML candidate Muhammad Akmal Cheema won the Sialkot district nazim slot.
Akmal Cheema, younger brother of Punjab Industries Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, bagged 902 votes while ARD-backed candidate Mian Naeem Javaid, former district nazim, got 506 votes.
Imtiazuddin Dar of the PML-N won the Sialkot tehsil nazim slot. ARD candidate Nasir Mehmood Cheema was elected Daska tehsil nazim. His rival was ruling PML’s Ejaz Ahmad Cheema. Nasir Cheema bagged 203 votes while his opponent could get 161. In Sambrial tehsil, ruling PML candidate Nasir Mehmood Ghuman, the elder brother of Punjab Public Accounts Committee chairman Azeem Noori Ghuman (MPA), was elected tehsil nazim. He secured 129 votes while his rival candidate Liaquat Ghuman of the ARD could manage 86 votes.
In Pasrur tehsil, ruling party candidate Chaudhry Maqsood Sulehria was re-elected tehsil nazim by defeating ARD-supported aspirant Rana Muhammad Ishtiaq.
The PML candidate clinched 181 votes while the ARD candidate got 151 votes.
NAROWAL: The PML won the Narowal district nazim and Shakargarh tehsil nazim seats, but failed to capture the Narowal tehsil nazim slot.
Dr Niamat Ali Javaid, father of provincial health minister Dr Tahir Ali Javaid, won the district nazim election with a thumping margin. He got 842 votes while his rival Chaudhry Muhammad Akbar Khan (ARD) could get only a few votes.
In Narowal tehsil, ruling party candidate Fazal Mahmood Virk, the brother of MPA Khizar Ilyas Virk, was defeated by his rival candidate and former Narowal tehsil nazim Khwaja Waseem Butt. He bagged 299 votes while Fazal could get only 192.
In Shakargarh tehsil, PML-backed Chaudhry Tariq Anis, the brother of MPA Muhammad Abbas, won the tehsil nazim seat after defeating known politician Chaudhry Anwar Aziz, father of NRB chairman Danial Aziz.
SHEIKHUPURA: Sahibzada Mian Jalil Ahmad Sharqpuri, the ruling PML-backed candidate, was elected Sheikhupura district nazim. He defeated ARD’s Chaudhry Altaf Husain Virk, according to unofficial results.
Bilal Ahmad Virk was elected Sheikhupura tehsil nazim after defeating his rival, Sheikh Muhammad Jamil, of the ARD.
The crown for Nankana Sahib district went to ruling party’s Pir Mumtaz Shah, uncle of Intelligence Bureau Director-General Ijaz Shah. In Nankana tehsil, Shahzada Moon Khan of the PML was elected nazim after defeating the ARD candidate.
Mian Marghoob Ahmad Sharqpuri, a cousin of nazim-elct Mian Jalil, was elected Sharaqpur nazim after defeating Muqeem Ali Shah, an independent candidate.
Sakina Bibi was elected councillor on woman seat by securing 46 votes.
As for Safdarabad tehsil, Begum Rafaqat Ijaz, wife of PML MPA Rai Ijaz Ahmad Khan, was elected nazim while in Sangla Hill, Ittehad Group’s Tahir Munir Cheema was elected nazim. He defeated the ruling party candidate.
In Shahkot, Mian Shahid Shamim Haider, son of Federal Railways Minister Mian Shamim Haider, was elected tehsil nazim.
Ferozewala Tehsil: ARD-supported Rana Anwarul Haq won the seat of tehsil nazim by defeating the PML nominee Agha Husain Haider.
Muridke Tehsil: PML-N’s Rana Afzal Husain, younger brother of former MNA Rana Tanveer Husain, was elected tehsil nazim. Ruling party’s Rana Ijaz Husain met with disappointment.
CM’S REACTION: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi is learnt to have expressed resentment over the PML candidates’ defeat in Ferozewala and Muridke tehsils where the PML-N group hopefuls emerged successful. In a telephonic conversation with the leaders, he dropped a hint that the party district president would be removed.
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