MULTAN, Dec 24: Babu Nafees Ahmad Ansari, a former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA, has terminated his long association with the PML-N after its leadership refused him a ticket for PP-195. Before quitting the PML-N, Ansari was party’s district chapter secretary-general.

At a press conference here on Monday, Ansari bemoaned the treatment the PML-N leadership meted out to him, and said he remained loyal and committed to the party through thick and thin but he was ignored for a ticket.

Ansari said he was elected on a PML-N ticket during the 2002 elections, but the rulers could not jolt his affiliation with his party despite their worst pressure tactics.

He said the provincial government neither released his development funds nor even a single development project was planned after his consultation or on his recommendation because he always exposed wrong policies of the PML-Q government.

He said he could not attend the funeral of his mother and sister because he was behind the bars due to his political activities. He lamented that the PML-N had awarded PP-195 ticket to Amir Saeed Ansari, who even did not have basic party membership.

He accused Rana Noorul Hasan, a PML-N candidate for NA-150, and his father Rana Mehmoodul Hasan, who was member of the PML-N’s parliamentary board, of selling party ticket for his provincial constituency in Rs3.5 million.

He said he tried to contact Nawaz Sharif frequently to inform him the situation he was facing but to no avail. He said Javed Hashmi’s claim that party tickets had been awarded on merit was wrong.

He said he had informed Nawaz Sharif when he visited him to condole the death of his mother and sister that party affairs were not being handled properly and the basic reason behind poor turnout in Sharif’s public meeting on Dec 17 was disappointment of party workers.

He said though he had not joined any other political party, he had decided supporting Mian Fazal Mukhtar, a PML-Q candidate for NA-150, and Abbas Ali Ansari, a PML-Q candidate for PP-195, after consultation with his friends and clansmen.

It may be mentioned here that PML-N candidate for PP-196 Mujahid Bhutta, who was defeated by PML-Q’s Furqan Mirza with a margin of only 291 votes in the 2002 general elections, has already announced supporting Fazal Mukhtar after his failure to get party ticket for PP-196. According to sources, Chaudhry Abdul Waheed has clinched the PML-N ticket for PP-196, in Rs4 million.