TOBA TEK SINGH, Aug 26: The ruling party-backed candidates claim a clear-cut victory in Toba Tek Singh. Speaking at a joint press conference on Friday, Punjab Forest Minister and PML District President Dr Ashfaqur Rehman, MNA Riaz Fatyana, party’s district nazim slot candidate Chaudhry Abdul Sattar and former PPP leader Ghayyasuddin Janbaz claimed that out of 82 union councils in the district, their 55 panels of nazim and naib nazim have been elected.

They said former district nazim Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq’s claims about getting majority had proved wrong. Baing the PML vice-president, they said Chaudhry Ashfaq should support Chaudhry Sattar who had been nominated by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi for the covetous nazim’s office.

They claimed talks were under way with other groups and soon more panels would announce the support for Chaudhry Sattar.

Meanwhile, a source close to Chaudhry Ashfaq informed that his group had the support of 45 nazim and naib nazim panels.

Meanwhile, PML-N central leader M. Hamza, ex-MNA, has announced that his Ittehad group has won 11 union council nazim and naib nazim panels out of 26 in Gojra Tehsil.

He told journalists on Friday that he had yet to decided his support for any district nazim slot candidate.

On the other hand, Makhdoom Pir Ali Raza has claimed that his group has won seven union council nazim and naib nazim panels in 26 UCs of Kamalia Tehsil. He announced that his group would support Chaudhry Sattar for the district nazim slot.