LARKANA, Oct 8: Leaders of the PPP, PPP (SB), SNF, PML (Q), PML (N), MMA and MQM on Tuesday undertook a whirlwind tour of the Larkana district to muster support for their election candidates.

Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, president, People’s Party Parliamentarians, Sindh, with the PPP district president, Nawab Shabir Ahmed Chandio, and its National and Provincial Assembly candidates, visited Dokri, Badah, Nasirabad, Warah, Kambar and Larkana.

Speaking at several corner meetings, the PPP leaders asked the voters to use their right of franchise.

They criticized the government for keeping their leader, Benazir Bhutto, out of the election by framing new laws.

The PPP leaders met an independent candidate, Zia Ahmed Jalbani (former president, PPP, Ratodero taluka), and tried to persuade him to retire in favour of the party candidate, Ayaz Soomro.

However, Jalbani told them if Ms Bhutto would assure him of awarding party ticket for a Senate seat, he would retire.

Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Bhutto focused on mobilizing the people in the constituencies of PS-36, 37 and 40, where the candidates of his party are in the run.

The chairperson of the PPP-SB, Ghinwa Bhutto, during the election campaign of her party candidates, Farooq Bhutto and Dr Sikandar Jatoi, toured Shahdadkot, Ratodero, Naudero and spoke at corner meetings.

She said that the PPP (SB) had opted for contesting the election independently and urged the people to elect those who could raise voice for their rights.

Altaf Hussain Unnar, the district president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), Babu Sarfraz Jatoi, the district president of the PML (N), Aijaz Shaikh, the district president of Sindh Democratic Alliance, and Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, tried their best to keep their support intact.

Meanwhile the DPO, Larkana, Abdul Sattar Detho, visited polling stations in the district and reviewed the security arrangements made for the election day.

The dispatch of election material for polling stations in the district has begun.

There are 1,009 polling stations in the district, out of which 378 have been declared sensitive.

The 1,009 polling stations are divided into 50 sub-sectors and each sub-sector consists of 25 polling stations. A sub- inspector and four police constables will be deployed for patrolling duty at each sub-sector.

On the other hand, the commuters are facing hardships as the police had impounded most of public transport and the owners had withdrawn remaining buses and wagons from road to save them from being used in election duty.