TOBA TEK SINGH: All is set for polling for PP-89 by-election being held on Wednesday (tomorrow).

The seat was vacated after the death of PML-N MPA Makhdoom Ali Raza.

Assistant Returning Officer Hafiz Muhammad Najeeb (also Pirmahal assistant commissioner) told reporters 166,613 registered voters - of them 94,791 are male and 71,822 female - could poll their votes. He said 147 polling stations had been set up, of them nine were the most sensitive and 28 sensitive, where more policemen would be deputed.

He added that 1,300 policemen would perform security duty at the polling stations.

Election campaign for the PP-89 by-poll ended on Monday. Both PML-N candidate Pir Ali Baba and independent candidate Sonia Ali Raza led big rallies which passed through several villages of the constituency and culminated in Pirmahal.

The PML-N held its last public meeting at Allah Hoo Chowk while Ms Raza held her show at Sadar Bazaar.

Mr Baba and others claimed that before his death, Raza had directed his close aides to follow Baba in case he died.

Mr Baba said Pirmahal city was named after his forefathers who had served the area for hundreds of years.

He said that after the withdrawal of candidature by PTI ticket holder Rana Shafiq, it was sure the PML-N would sweep the election.

MNA Chaudhry Asadur Rehman, former district naib nazim Khalid Sardar and other PML-N leaders also spoke.

Ms Raza in her speech said that though her father had been the biggest landlord of the district, he had never betrayed his supporters and served all without any discrimination. This was the reason that he had won elections seven times.

She said that no one could accuse her father of any kind of corruption while Mr Baba and his family allegedly sold jobs when his uncle Yousaf Raza Gilani was the prime minister.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Riaz Fatyana said that there was a great respect for Ms Raza in the constituency and the polling day would be the day of her success.

He claimed that his supporters and PTI voters were also with her. He said that in the 2013 elections, he (Fatyana) had lost the NA-94 election and out of the 67,000 votes he had secured 28,000 votes from PP-89 while Ms Raza’s late father had secured 55,000 votes. These numbers altogether showed Mr Baba stood no chance.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2016