LAHORE-At least five PPP notables from Punjab are not contesting the coming elections due to varying reasons.
Three noted personalities from Lahore which include Qasim Zia, Mian Misbahur Rehman and Jehangir Badar are not in the contest this time.
Qasim and Misbah have reportedly declined to accept party ticket due to personal reasons, while Badar has already been elected as Senator. The PPP leadership, however, did not award party ticket to Badar’s son, Ali Badar from a provincial seat because of his poor performance in the last elections.  Senior PPP leader from Faisalabad, Rana Aftab is another prominent politician not interested in the next elections. He neither applied for party ticket nor did he file nomination papers from any constituency. Rana is reportedly angry with the party leadership for giving undue importance to Raja Riaz. Aftab had lost the 2008 elections by a narrow margin of 400 votes which paved the way for Raja to come into prominence.
Former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is also not in the race this time due to his disqualification by the Supreme Court though his review petition is yet to be decided. His son, Abdul Qadir Gilani filed nomination papers from his father’s constituency-NA-151 on Sunday.
Aamir Paracha, PPP’s district President, Rawalpindi, has also decided to not to contest against Sh Rashid.