FAISALABAD, Jan 18: The local leadership of major opposition parties — PPP and PML-N — have faced a serious jolt as their nominated candidate for the city district’s naib nazim seat has changed his loyalty and withdrawn in favour of the PML candidate.

Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf, a newcomer in the local politics, had entered into the local body arena with the support of PML-N MNA Raja Nadir Pervaiz.

His first election office was also set up in opposition MNA’s offices. However, PPP leaders raised an objection adding that according to the formula, it was the right of PPP to nominate candidate for the city district naib nazim as the nazim candidate had been selected from the PML-N fold.

After this scenario, Sheikh Yousaf jumped into the PPP fold with the claim that he was an old PPP activist under the leadership of PPP divisional coordinator and MPA Raja Riaz Ahmed.

Finally, Sheikh Yousaf was nominated as ARD’s candidate for the naib nazim seat while the ruling PML fielded former MNA Mian Amjad Yaseen as it candidate.

As in other parts of the country, the counting through show of hand was also held for the Faisalabad naib nazim seat on Dec 28, 2005, in which out of 412 members of the house, 399 had cast their votes but none of the candidates could get the required votes.

In the run-off elections on the same day, PML candidate Amjad Yaseen could get only 204 votes while Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf bagged 177 votes.

However, remaining members of the house had refused to cast their votes in favour any candidate and they remained seated.

Supporters of Sheikh Yousaf had protested before the returning officer and blamed for favouring Amjad Yaseen due to which the situation became out of control and the naib nazim seat was declared vacant due to the law and order situation.

The ARD candidate had an ample support from councillors having deep links with PA speaker Muhammad Afzal Sahi. This act on the part of the speaker had divided the ruling PML and party leaders declared the PA speaker responsible for the failure of Amjad Yaseen to clinch the seat.

Sources close to the Punjab PML leadership revealed that the chief minister had taken a serious notice of sharp differences among the local leadership and asked the PA speaker to support Mian Amjad Yaseen.

After this move, the PA speaker and his brother MNA Ghulam Rasool Sahi succeeded in prevailing upon Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf to join the ruling PML. Sheikh Yousaf also met with Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi in Lahore and formally joined the ruling PML. On Wednesday, Afzal Sahi held a detailed meeting with both the naib nazim candidates at the local Circuit House.

After the withdrawal of Sheikh Yousaf in favour of the ruling party nominee, the PPP and the PML-N leadership is in a fix. They are also worried over the claims of ruling party leaders that ARD-backed city district Nazim Rana Zahid Tauseef would also join the PML during the next week.

Meanwhile, Rana Muhammad Idrees and Basharat Manj, on behalf of a 40-member Hamdard Group of the city district assembly, have filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court to get stay orders against the naib nazim elections.

They are of the view that after the declaration of the seat as vacant by the returning officer, fresh schedule should be announced for the elections instead of one-on-one contest between Amjad Yaseen and Sheikh Yousaf.

However, RO Sadaqatullah Khan has fixed the polling date on Thursday (today) at the Divisional Public School.