MITHI, Dec 16: Former chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said he has preferred to contest for a provincial assembly seat because he desires to become chief minister for the second time.

Arbab said at a public gathering in Diplo on Saturday all the past governments ignored Thar and let it remain a backward area but under the President Musharraf’s government record development works including roads, water supply and electrification had been completed in this remote region.

He accused Mumtaz Bhutto and Jam Sadiq Ali of doing politics of political victimisation in their capacity as chief ministers of Sindh. When Nawaz Sharif was prime minister, his brother Shahbaz misused his powers and Asif Zardari took undue advantage of his wife’s being prime minister but no Arbab had ever misused the officer of chief minister, he claimed.

He said that Pakistan People’s Party was accusing him of pre-poll rigging after sensing defeat in Thar in upcoming elections, but “we believe in clean politics and I invite the international observers to come and monitor the polls in Thar,” Arbab said.

He said that PPP had fielded outsider and rich candidates, Sharjeel Memon and Pesumal, because the party had no existence in Thar. Both were destined to taste defeat and run away like weather cocks, he said.

Arbab who is also the president of the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q announced names of six candidates who had been awarded party tickets for two national assembly and four provincial assembly seats from Thar.

Arbab Ghulam Rahim had been ticket for PS-60 (Tharparkar-I Diplo), Arbab Zulfiqar Ali for PS-61, Arbab Haji Abdullah for PS-62, Abdul Razzaq Rahoomo for PS-63, Arbab Zakaullah for NA-229 and Dr Ghulam Haider Samejo for NA-230.

The names of PML-Q’s nominees for seats reserved for minorities were Ramsingh Sodho, Engineer Kanjimal and P.M. Dilip Guriro, he said.