TOBA TEK SINGH: Differences have surfaced in the local PPP ranks on the issue of the party ticket for NA-93 in the next general election as a group is supporting Begum Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry, the former PPP provincial minister, while another group supports her late husband’s brother Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali.

PPP City President Rana Khalid Mahmood told this correspondent that some months back when the PPP high command had appointed office-bearers of the party, it was decided in a meeting with Faisalabad division’s president Syed Hasan Murtaza that Ms Neelam would not contest the general elections as she wanted to be the district president.

He claimed the meeting had decided that Mr Zulfiqar would be a party candidate for NA-93 while Ms Neelam was made the district president of the party.

However, later on, Ms Neelam herself announced contesting election even after becoming district party president, he said and added that the party’s veteran workers and office-bearers had decided to oppose her for the ticket.

When contacted, Mr Zulfiqar said he had been asked by the party workers to go for the party ticket and he would do so but he would abide by the party decision in case it awarded ticket to any other candidate.

It is pertinent to mention that PPP tehsil president Chaudhry Mazhar Iqbal Kahloon and secretary general Sardar Waheed Gadhi are supporting Ms Neelam. They said that Ms Neelam had won PP-86 in 2008 general election on the PPP ticket.

They argued she had mobilised a large number of women voters and the same voters would definitely again vote for her if she was awarded the party ticket. Ms Neelam was not available for her comments.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2017