LAHORE, Sept 19: Hafiz Salman Butt of Jamaat-i-Islami continues his campaign in NA-118, as Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has not yet decided as to who will be its and PML-N’s joint candidate in the constituency.

JUI-F’s Hafiz Abdul Wadood has the MMA ticket in the constituency where Mr Butt is also in the field to challenge the PML-QA president and his old rival in the football federation Mian Mohammad Azhar.

The PML-N granted its ticket to Mr Butt for it wanted to give a tough time to Mian Azhar who, it felt, betrayed the Sharifs by carving out a new faction of the party and supporting the army takeover.

The issue was taken up by the MMA elders when the JUI-F threatened to oppose each and every candidate of the Jamaat if Mr Butt did not withdraw in favour of Mr Wadood.

The Jamaat claimed that the PML-N had agreed to surrender three National Assembly seats as part of electoral adjustments in Lahore while the MMA had unanimously decided that all those seats would go to the Jamaat. So there was no wrong done when Mr Butt decided to contest the polls from NA-118.

There were conflicting reports about the retirement of Mr Butt late on Thursday night. When contacted, he said he would continue his election campaign in NA-118 as he had received no directions from his party to suspend it.

Political analysts say if both the parties stick to their stands, the only options left for Mr Butt will be to abandon his party and join the PML-N or contest the polls as an independent candidate.