Rawalpindi- After the announcement of schedule for elections of chairman and vice chairmen by Election Commission of Pakistan, the ruling PML-N local leaders started flexing their muscles to get tickets for the top slots of district council.

Though the PML-N has got thumping majority in district council but the names of chairman and vice chairmen are yet to be decided, as more than dozen candidates appeared within the party to get the party tickets.

Some senior party leaders on condition of anonymity told The Nation yesterday that many local candidates within ruling N-league have rolled up their sleeves for obtaining party tickets for contesting upcoming district council elections for slot of chairman and vice chairmen.

Among the ticket aspirants, they said, Shaukat Iqbal Janjua and Bilal Yamin Satti are most favourite candidates and heavyweights for the slot of district council in NA-50, from where federal minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Raja Ashfaq Sarwar won the general elections 2013.

Similarly, Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Bilal Yamin Satti are running their horses to get party tickets in NA-51 Gujar Khan, ruled by Javed Ikhlas, the parliamentary secretary. 

Dost Muhammad Mahmand is being considered the most favourite in NA 52 and 53, the constituencies of Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, they said.

Raja Javed Ikhlas has fielded Muhammad Khan Bhatti, a local leader, in the election run, they informed.

They said candidates for chairman and vice chairman started holding meetings with party leaders MNA Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, MPA Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Senator Raja Zafar Ul Haq and MNA Javed Ikhlas for mustering their support for getting party tickets.

However, the final decision of tickets would be made by party leadership in Lahore, the senior party leaders said. According to them, PTI and PPP are yet to field their candidates for the elections.

According to schedule issued by ECP, the candidates will file nomination papers with the Returning Officers on 8 and 9 December 2016 while the process of scrutiny would be done on 10 and 11 December.

The polling will be held on December 22 during which 111 chairmen and vice chairmen and 25 councillors elected on reserve seats will chose their district/municipal corporation chairman and chairmen.