LAHORE, Feb 17: Candidates vying for the slots of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) for 2013-14 have stepped up their campaign.

Two traditional groups of the bar politics -- Professional and Independent -- have fielded their candidates for the top slot. Up to 18,891 voters will exercise their right to vote in the polls to be held on Feb 23. Traditionally, the LHCBA polls are held on the last Saturday of February.

Syed Muhammad Shah is the candidate of Hamid Khan-led Professional Group while Abid Saqi is from the Independent Group, led by former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Asma Jahangir.

Shafqat Mahmood Chohan and Sajjad Husain Bhatti are also vying for the top slot as independent candidates.

Independent Group activists says their morale is high due to their three consecutive victories in SCBA and LHCBA polls.

Mr Saqi has already enjoyed the office of the LHCBA secretary in the early days of Musharraf’s military rule. He is being supported by members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Ahsan Bhoon, Azam Nazir Tarar, Ramzan Chaudhry, Syed Kalbe Hassan and Burhan Moazam Malik, incumbent presidents of the SCBA, the LHCBA and the Lahore Bar Association -- Mian Israrul Haq, Shehram Sarwar and Nauman Qureshi.

Other supporters include: Kazim Khan, Ashraf Wahla, Zaman Qureshi, Malik Saeed Hassan, SM Zafar, Khalid Ranjha, Akram Qureshi and Jahangir A. Jhoja.

Being affiliated to the Pakistan People’s Party, Mr Saqi is also enjoying the backing of the Peoples Lawyers’ Forum (PLF), led by former governor Latif Khosa. Another group of the PLF, led by former law minister Babar Awan, is also supporting Mr Saqi.

PML-N lawyers are still indecisive. Their head Naseer Bhutta has constituted a committee to decide about their candidate. A member of the committee say the committee would more likely go for Mr Saqi as Ms Jahangir has established good relations with PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif.

In the last election of the SCBA, PML-N lawyers had supported the candidate of Ms Jahangir’s group contrary to their traditional association with Professional Group of Hamid Khan. Strong affiliation of Khan with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was the reason of this decision.

Professional Group’s Syed Muhammad Shah is enjoying the support of PBC members Pir Kalim Khurshid, Amin Javed, Maqsood Buttar and Mian Abdul Quddus, former presidents of the LHCBA Nasira Javed Iqbal, Fakharunisa Khokhar, Ahmad Awais and Asghar Ali Gill, former LHCBA secretary Rabbiya Bajwa, Khwaja Tariq Sohail, Azhar Siddique and Zulfiqar Bokhari. Mr Shah is the former president of LBA and steered the bar effectively in the famous lawyer’s movement. A majority of the young lawyers in the bar is supporting him.

The third candidate, Mr Chohan, though has no affiliation with the traditional groups, has the potential to stage an upset in the polls. He is trying his luck for second time as he had stood runner-up in the last election of the bar.

Besides a big name of bar politics Amir Alam Khan, many other prominent figures are backing him. Some members of the Punjab Bar Council have also announced their support for Chohan.

Sajjad Bhatti, the fourth candidate for the president’s slot, has been associated with the PLF.

Ghulam Sarwar Nihang and Qayyum Tahir Chaudhry are vying for the slot of vice-president.

Mian Shahzad Manday, Balighuz Zaman Siddiqui and Latif Sra are in run for the slot of secretary.

Former LHCBA secretary Rana Asadullah Khan, former LBA president Rana Zia Abdul Rehman and PBC Executive Committee Chairman Burhan Moazam Malik are main supporters of Mr Manday.

Mr Siddiqui is son of former advocate general Punjab Aftab Iqbal and is backed by lawyers belonged to PPP besides other groups.

Feroza Malik, Shabnam Aslam and Usman Sher Gondal are contesting for the slot of finance-secretary.