LAHORE, Oct 10: The People’s Party, which had been banished from Punjab in the 1997 elections at the hands of its erstwhile adversary Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), regained its lost glory in the province on Thursday by winning various important provincial assembly seats.

The party improved its performance in the biggest province by defeating Punjab PML (Quaid-i-Azam) President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi — a candidate for the office of the chief minister — on one of the two seats he was contesting.

The PML(Q) leader was stranger to the Rahim Yar Khan constituency. However, he won his Gujrat seat with a big margin.

Many other seats which were regarded as strongholds of the PML(N) have gone to the PML(Q).

The National Alliance, a coalition of smaller parties of which the Millat Party is one, also showed good performance in the southern districts.

According to preliminary results received from Bahawalnagar, People’s Party Parliamentarians’ Saifullah Awaisi (PP-270), Chaudhry Shoaib Karim (PP-275), Dr Mohammad Afzal (PP-276) are the winners.

In Sialkot district, six seats have been won by the PML(Q) and one each by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the PML(N). Those who have been returned on these seats are: Ahmed Cheema (PP-121), Khush Akhtar Subhani (PP-125), Armaghan Subhani (PP-127), Arshad Mahmood Baggo (PP-122), Imran Ashraf (PP-123), Shahid Mahmood Butt (PP-128), Chaudhry Ansar Iqbal (PP-129) and Chaudhry Azeem Ghumman (PP-131).

In Rahim Yar Khan, Makhdoom Imaduddin of the PPP trounced Pervaiz Elahi on PP-292. Winning candidates on other seats in the district are: Mohammad Shafiq Anwar of PML(N) on PP-296 and Sheikh Aziz Aslam of PPP (PP-297).

In Layyah, Asghar Ali Gujjar of MMA, Mehr Ejaz Ahmed of PML(N) and Haji Malik Allah Bux Samita and Chaudhry Altaf Husain of PML(Q) have won on PP-266, PP-265, PP-263 and PP-262, respectively.

In Rajanpur, Sardar Awais Leghari of the National Alliance and independent candidates Hasnain Bahadur Dreshak and Sardar Mohammad Amanullah Dreshak won from PP-247, PP-248 and PP-249 respectively.

In Dera Ghazi Khan, Mir Badshah Khan Qaisrani (NA), Sardar Fateh Mohammad Buzdar PML(Q), Javed Akhtar (NA), Syed Abdul Aleem (NA), Farooq Leghari (NA), Sardar Yousaf Khan Leghari (NA) have won on PP-240, PP-241, PP-242, PP-244, PP-245 and PP-246 respectively.

In Sahiwal, PPP’s Valayat Shah Khagga, Aftab Ahmed Khan and Chaudhry Mohammad Arshad, PML(Q)’s Malik Jalal Din, Mohammad Arshad and Malik Noman Ahmed Langrial of NA and independent candidate Chaudhry Waheed Asghar Dogar succeeded on PP-220, PP-221, PP-225, PP-222, PP-223, PP-224 and PP-226, respectively.