LAHORE, March 10 The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) retained the NA-123, Lahore-VI, seat in an electoral contest that remained peaceful but lacked luster with voters' turnout hovered at around 20 per cent. There were 56 candidates in the race from the constituency having 288,000 voters approximately.

Unofficial election results revealed that Pervaiz Malik of the PML-N polled 45,889 votes while Hamid Meraj of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf secured 9,440 as the runner-up. However, Hafiz Salman Butt of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) hardly secured around 3,000 votes.

To the disappointment of the JI and against expectations of political observers, Butt could not match even the PTI candidate, although the PML-Q had withdrawn its candidate in former's favour.

The result gave credence to the notion that the JI had been succeeding in the city in the past only with the tacit or otherwise support of the PML-N.

No untoward incident was reported from any polling station throughout the day as 5,000 police personnel were on guard while a contingent of Rangers also patrolled the area to maintain law and order.

Voters seemed disinterested in the by-polls as turnout was extremely low. Not more than half a dozen voters were seen queued up at any polling station at any time. Except for the PML-N's, election camps of all the candidates gave a deserted look throughout the day.

As a strategic move, the PML-N had 'imported' leaders and workers from outside the constituency.

Party officials said each primary unit leader in the city had been asked to bring along with him a dozen people to man election camps, while its ministers, MNAs and MPAs continued moving from one place to another in the area in small processions. Had these outsiders not helped create an election atmosphere, the election activity would have been far more negligible.

The other two major rivals had also adopted the policy, though at much lower level. They admitted that the PML-N strategy paid as it managed to influence the floating vote.

There were almost no complaints of rigging or irregularities in the polling process.

To their own consolation, PTI leaders said the election process had at least provided them an opportunity to build the party structure in the city, especially in the constituency.

Finding around 630 polling agents (only a voter can be the agent under election laws) for 268 polling stations is a big achievement for them in the context of future politics.

Knowing fully well that their candidates were not going to win, activists of both the PTI and the JI remained cheerful till the announcement of results as some young supporters of the PTI took out a small rally in Ghoray Shah area when the polling process had come to an end.

PML-N supporters celebrated Pervaiz Malik's victory outside the venue where party chief Nawaz Sharif had spoken to an election rally on GT Road. Sweets were distributed as party activists danced to the beat of the drum.