May 15, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429

KHAIRPUR, May 14: Twenty candidates have entered the contest for PS-30, Kingri, which has fallen vacant after Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi who had won it and another National Assembly seat in Feb 18 elections opted for the NA membership.

They filed nomination papers with additional sessions’ judge of Gambat and returning officer on Tuesday, the last day for filing papers. The candidates include some old and some new faces, some nobodies who have entered the race only to pull out later and some big wigs who want to end their losing streak.

The real contest is between Pakistan People’s Party’s Bachal Shah Jilani, who had twice lost to Sadruddin Shah Rashidi in 2002 and 1997 general elections, and PML-F.

PPP’s candidates include; Barrister Zamir Ghumro, who has been a student leader and remained associated with progressive parties, Ghulam Murtaza Khuhro, a PPP worker, Advocate Hafizullah Chandio, a PPP worker, Liaquat Ali Maitlo, a PPP worker, Qadir Bux Khan Mari, former MPA affiliated to PPP, Syed Zakirullah Shah Rashidi, PPP worker, Mubeen Ahmed Phulpoto, former leader of Asif Zardari Release Committee.

PML-F candidates who filed nomination papers include Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, who had briefly remained provincial minister for revenue under Mahar’s government and lost to PPP’s Naeem Kharal in Feb 18 polls, Mumtaz Ali Kanhar, former taluka naib-nazim, Syed Azam Shah Rashidi, Abdul Sami Dhand and Shafqat Ali Mahessar, who is leader of PML-F lawyers forum.

PML-N candidates are; Ghulam Hyder Phulpoto and Dr Syed Ali Hyder Shah, son of OML-N central leader Ghous Ali Shah.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal candidates are; Moulvi Abdullah Abbasi, and independent candidates are; Zulfiqar Ali Kanhar, Mohammad Din, Syed Samiullah Shah Rashidi and Haji Abdul Hameed Mangnejo.

Meanwhile, arrangements for re-polling on 18 polling stations for NA-202 Shikarpur-I and 17 polling stations for PS-12 Shikarpur-IV (Khanpur) scheduled for May 17 were finalised by election authorities, reports our Shikarpur correspondent.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had directed the Election Commission to conduct re-polling on the above-mentioned polling stations on a petition filed by PPP candidates Aftab Shaban Mirani and Agha Arsalan Khan who had lost to NPP’s Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Jatoi for NA-202 and Mir Abid Hussain Jatoi for PS-12 Shikarpur-IV amid allegations of massive rigging.