NA-151 (Multan-IV)

Here, Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s daughter Meher Bano Qureshi was riding a sympathy wave following the sentencing of her father. However, in the final result, the son of his traditional rival, Yousuf Raza Gilani, came out on top wth 79,080 votes to Meher Bano’s 71,649 votes.

NA-44 (D.I. Khan-I)

PTI-backed politician Ali Amin Gandapur pulled off an upset by defeating two heavyweights,

Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F and former NA deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi.

Gandapur took 93,443 votes against Fazl’s 59,922. Kundi could only manage to bag 35,567 votes. This is an interesting result because Mr Gandapur has been in hiding since he was implicated in cases over the May 9 violence, and questions have been raised over whether he would resurface to take oath as a member of the National Assembly.

NA-130 (Lahore)

Although she seemed to be leading overnight in unofficial results, the ECP declared PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif the winner in this contest against former Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid, who is currently incarcerated and facing cases over the violence on May 9 last year.

NA-71 (Sialkot-II)

Overnight, PML-N stalwart and former defence minister Khwaja Asif seemed to be losing to the mother of his rival, Usman Dar. However, when the ECP declared its final results,

Mr Asif managed to grab 118,566 votes to Rehana Dar’s 100,272.

NA-122 (Lahore-VI)

Imran Khan’s lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa, who had not enjoyed massive electoral success in the past with the PPP, managed to dethrone PML-N stalwart Khwaja Saad Rafique. Khosa bagged 117,109 votes against Rafique’s 77,709.

NA-58 (Chakwal)

Although he was tipped to be the favourite to win this contest, PTI-backed Ayaz Amir lost to PML-N’s Tahir Iqbal in Chakwal.

Mr Amir, a former columnist and PML-N politician, got 102,537. However, his opponent bagged 115,974 votes to claim victory.

NA-149 (Multan-II) and NA-155 (Lodhran-II)

The former PTI ‘financier’ and founder of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan party had a poor showing on election day, losing two NA seats to his rivals. Despite a seat adjustment with the PML-N in Multan, he lost to PTI-backed Amir Dogar, while PML-N’s Siddique Baloch trounced the IPP chief in his native Lodhran.

PP-32 (Gujrat-VI)

A family feud that spilled over into the political arena, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain trounced his relative Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in this provincial contest.

NA-100 (Faisalabad-VI)

Moustachioed former interior minsiter Rana Sanaullah, who was also managing the PML-N electoral campaign, could not retain his own seat, losing out to PTI-backed Dr Nisar Jutt. The latter prevailed with 131,996, while Mr Sanaullah could only manage 112,403 votes.

NA-129 (Lahore-XIII)

Entering the electoral fray in the stead of his son, former PTI minister Hammad Azhar, the veteran politician — who also founded the PML-Q — prevailed int his contest after decades out of the political scene, trouncing Hafiz Nauman of the PML-N.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2024