DERA GHAZI KHAN: On the last day of symbol allotment, seven candidates in Dera Ghazi Khan division, who were allotted tickets by the PML-N, left the party and decided to contest polls as independent candidate, most of them on the symbol of bucket and jeep.

It is being seen a big setback to the former ruling party, whose ticket used to be the most sought-after commodity in the 2013 elections.

Of them, four candidates are from the group of former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Sher Ali Gorchani.

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Mr Gorchani is a candidate for NA-193 and PP-293, while his father Pervez Gorchani (PP-295), Athar Gorchani (PP-294) and Yousuf Khan Dareshak (PP-296) also refused to submit PML-N tickets.

Yousuf Dareshak’s brother Dr Hafeez Dareshak has also returned his NA-194 PML-N ticket. They were allotted electoral symbol of jeep.

In Dera Ghazi Khan, Shamoona Mir Badshah Qaisrani withdrew her PML-N ticket for PP-285 while former PML-N MNA Amjad Farooq Khosa also preferred independent status for NA-190 candidature. His new electoral symbol is bucket.

Ms Qaisrani will fight the election for PP-285 on ‘mobile phone’ symbol while she holds the tiger symbol of the PML-N for NA-189. She was not allowed to withdraw the ticket because the deadline for symbol allotment had ended by the time she submitted her request.

MUZAFFARGARH: In the footstep of his Dera Ghazi and Rajanpur colleagues, former PML-N MNA from Muzaffargarh Sultan Hinjra also refused the PML-N ticket for NA-181 and went for symbol of jeep.

On Friday, his nephew Qasim Hinjra had returned PML-N ticket for NA-182. He and his brother Ahmad Yar Hinjra, however, retained the PML-N ticket for their provincial constituencies as they believe the provincial government will be of the PML-N while central government will be of the PTI.

In the neighboring, NA-183, PML-N and PTI tickets were turned down by Raza Rabbani Khar, who is now a PPP candidate. From here, the PML-N has no candidate. Khar says the PPP awarded mega projects to their area, so the party would remain his first choice.

With these developments, now there are no candidates of the PML-N in NA-181, NA-190, NA-193 and NA-194.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2018