KARAK, Feb 8: Differences and groupings in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Karak district, could seriously dent the party’s vote bank and preparation for the next general election, said insiders on Wednesday. They claimed that the provincial youth wing president and former MNA Shamsur Rehman left the party recently due to the undemocratic attitude of provincial general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak and their differences over the party ticket for National Assembly seat in the upcoming general election.

The sources said that at present three groups, each led by Mr Salam, Jehanzeb Khattak and Shahjehan Khattak, were working in the district and all efforts to bring them on one platform had failed.

The ideological workers hold Mr Salam responsible for all the differences, as he is reluctant to accept Mr Jehanzeb and Mr Shahjehan groups in the party, the sources said.

Two parallel youth organisations are working in the district, as the youth wing’s former provincial president Shamsur Rehman had appointed Ahmad Zia Khattak as its district president while Mr Salam picked up Naeemur Rasheed for the slot.

When this scribe contacted Mr Shahjehan for his comments, he conceded that differences existed in the ranks of the party. He claimed that if the situation persisted the PML-N would not be able to win a single seat from the district in the next election.

Mr Shahjehan claimed that he would be the PML-N’s candidate for National Assembly seat and Mr Jehanzeb for the provincial assembly (PK-41) in the upcoming general election. He warned that they would contest the election as independent candidates if the tickets were not awarded to them.

He asked the party’s central leadership to streamline the affairs of Karak chapter and claimed that due to Mr Salam’s undemocratic actions the workers were getting fed up with the party.