GUJRAT: The nomination papers of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf President and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi will be filed in at least six constituencies of three districts, including his hometown of Gujrat.

Party and family sources said Mr Elahi would contest on three seats of National Assembly, including NA-64 (Gujrat city-Kunjah), NA-69 (Malakwal-Qadirabad) Mandi Bahauddin district and NA-59 Talagang (Chakwal) whereas he would also contest from at least three seats of Punjab Assembly, including PP-32 (Kunjah), PP-34 (Dinga-Mungowal) of Gujrat district and PP-23 (Talagang) Chakwal.

They said the legal team of former Punjab CM had completed the documentation required for filing the nomination papers as his lawyer had met him in the jail on Wednesday to get his signatures on nomination papers.

Dec 22 is the last date for submission of nomination papers.

Interestingly, the scions of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, including former federal minister Salik Hussain and his elder brother Shafay Hussain, have also been vying for NA-64 and PP-32, respectively, as the seats have long been contested by the members of Chaudhry family.

Parvez Elahi had never

lost the PP-32 (Kunjah) seat since 1985 whereas Shujaat Hussain had also contested NA-64 between 1985 and 2008 but lost it twice to Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, a former federal minister of the PPP, in 1993 and 2008, whereas Parvez Elahi had won that NA seat in 2013 and 2018, consecutively.

However after winning two NA (Gujrat and Chakwal) and a PA seat (Kunjah) in 2018 as a PML-Q nominee in a seat adjustment with the PTI, Mr Elahi had vacated both the NA seats and his son Moonis Elahi and nephew Salik Hussain had won the Gujrat and Chakwal NA seats in by-elections.

On the other hand, Salik Hussain and Shafay Hussain of PML-Q may get the support of PML-N for Gujrat constituencies as a seat adjustment between both the parties and it may be the nephews against the uncle contest.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2023