DERA GHAZI KHAN, Nov 29 Candidates for NA-172 by-elections are using wealth, tribal links, party loyalties and development projects to win the field for which the date has yet to be announced, Dawn has learnt.

The seat which fell vacant after the demise of PML-Q MNA and former president Farooq Ahmed Leghari, is likely to witness a tough competition as three major candidates are using their all means to win the elections.

The constituency, which consists of Dera Ghazi Khan city and its suburbs besides tribal areas of Choti Zaireen, has never seen any upset as the seat belongs to the Legharis. In the February 2008 elections, PML-N's Dr Hafiz Abdul Kareem and PPP's Shabbir Leghari made the fight difficult for Farooq Leghari who had been winning the seat with a comfortable margin in the earlier elections. In the last elections, the Leghari tribe chief hardly managed the seat with a margin of 5,000 votes. The results encouraged the runner-up, Hafiz Kareem, to try his luck in the by-election and he is running his electioneering with a newfound vigour. Backed up by numerous funds, which the local people believe he is getting from some donors in Arab countries, the Hafiz has launched development projects in the flood-hit areas winning accolade from the public.

This irks Awais Leghari. He says the PML-N candidate, who happens to be a hardliner cleric, is spoiling the electoral culture by making the ballot a buyable commodity. He demanded that the government check assets of the Hafiz which, according to him, were worth Rs27 billion.

“How can a common cleric from the countryside accumulate such riches in no time?” he said. He also criticised Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for visiting the area this month and announcing various projects for the constituency only to support the party candidate.

Hafiz Karim rejects the allegation and says he is fighting feudalism and tribalism.

PPP's Shabbir Leghari, who entered the electoral race recently, is banking on moderate voters who may see him the ultimate choice in the presence of a traditional tribal leader and a hardliner cleric. Federal government's support will boost his electioneering.