FAISALABAD, Dec 18: Aspirants for the top slot of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (City), country's biggest local council, have launched electioneering and mustering support of influential figures in the fold of government and major political parties.

The information gleaned by this correspondent here on Saturday reveal that four candidates, including sitting tehsil Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema, former PML-N MPA Khwaja Muhammad Islam and young politician Rana Zahid Mehmood, have formally kicked off their campaigns for the City Tehsil Nazim seat. They all have the potential to spend lavishly on electioneering.

City Tehsil Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema had recently been nominated PML's city president by replacing former MPA Qamar Zaman Awan. This stint of Mumtaz Cheema is also a part of his next election campaign as he is succeeded in communicating a message to his rivals that he has good position in the party ranks.

Rana Zahid Mehmood was a councillor during the Shahbaz Sharif regime and had formed a group against then mayor Amir Sher Ali, the son of PML-N MNA Chaudhry Sher Ali. After the dismissal of the Nawaz government, he left the country.

Rana Zahid, also a PML candidate, has some close association with a top aide of President Pervez Musharraf as well as provincial ministers Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan and Raja Muhammad Basharat.

Khwaja Muhammad Islam, the former PML-N MPA, has a good vote bank in residential and commercial areas around the Clock Tower and western parts of the city.

He had played a pivotal role in the local politics during the last general elections in which the PML-N had won one national assembly and three Punjab assembly seats. Mr Islam also enjoys the support of local business community especially cloth merchants and yarn dealers.

Ijaz Ahmed Virk advocate, another candidate, had contested the national assembly elections on the PPP ticket but lost to Mushtaq Ali Cheema, now serving as Federal Textile Minister.

Mr Virk claims himself to be the nominee of the PPP with the support of the PML-N stalwarts.

Political pundits have predicted a close fight between City Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema and the interested candidate for the same slot, Rana Zahid Mehmood, before the formal local bodies elections. Both the candidates are trying to win sympathies of the provincial PML leadership.

Rana Zahid has reportedly arranged a luncheon meeting in honour of the Punjab law minister at his residence on Dec 24. He also claimed to have the support of Punjab PML secretary-general Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan.

However, the top party command of the ruling PML has not so far given signal to any of the candidates for the slot of City Tehsil Nazim.