TOBA TEK SINGH

The election campaign for by-election to PP-89 ended on Monday amid big rallies and public meetings were both the PML-N candidate and independent candidate attempted to muster maximum support for their victory.
The PML-N candidate Pir Ali Baba held a public meeting at Allah Hu chowk while Sonia Ali Raza held a public meeting in Saddr Bazaar.
In his speech at the last public meeting of the campaign Pir Ali Baba and others claimed that before his death when late MPA Makhdoom Ali Raza was on the bed in hospital, he had clearly had directed his close aides to follow Pir Ali Baba in case he died. Baba said that Pirmahal city is named after his elders who served the area for hundreds of years. He said that after withdrawal of candidature by PTI ticket-holder Rana Shafiq, now it has become clear that the PML-N would sweep the election on Jan 6.
MNA Ch Asadur Rehman, former district naib nazim Khalid Sardar and other PML-N leaders also addressed the public meeting.
Sonia Ali Raza told her supporters that although her father was the biggest landlord of the district, he never betrayed his poor supporters and served everybody without any discrimination. She claimed that during his whole political career, no one could blame her father for indulging in corruption, accusing her rival Ali Baba and his family of selling jobs when his uncle Yousaf Raza Gilani was the prime minister.
PTI leader Riaz Fatyana said that there is great respect for Sonia Ali Raza in the constituency and Jan 6 would be the day of her success.
He claimed that all of his supporters and PTI voters would back Sonia. He said that in general election 2013, he (Fatyana) lost in NA-94 and out of his 67,000 votes he had secured 28,000 votes from PP-89 while Sonia's late father had secured record 55,000 votes so there was no chance of winning of Baba.
Meanwhile, Pirmahal AC and returning officer for PP-89 by-election Hafiz Najeeb said that a total of 166,613 voters would cast their votes out of them 94,791 are male and 71,822 are female.
He said that 147 polling stations have been set up out of which nine polling stations have been declared as most sensitive while 28 as sensitive where double policemen than ordinary polling stations will be deployed. He added that 1,300 policemen would perform security duty in and around the polling stations during the by-election in the constituency.