SIALKOT - PML-N’s heavy weight Khawaja Asif remained unbeatable, as he defeated PTI’s candidate Usman Dar after a neck and neck contest in Sialkot city’s NA-73 constituency. Khawaja Asif has won for the sixth consecutive time in his this native constituency. According to the unofficial results, the PML-N’s heavy weight got 116957 votes while PTI’s Usman Dar got 115464 votes.
The total vote turnout remained 51.99 percent in the constituency. Both the rival candidates gave very tough time to each other while Kh Asif defeated PTI’s Usman Dar with a margin of only 1493 votes after a neck and neck contest. Khawaja Asif had been the five consecutive times winner in this constituency and he made his double hat trick of victory here.
Thousands of jubilant PML-N workers came out on the roads to celebrate the great victory of Khawaja Muhammad Asif by bringing him out from the PML-N House Paris Road Sialkot city on their shoulders. They distributed sweets and also danced on the loud drum beats.
On the occasion, Khawaja Asif thanked the PML-N voters and supporters in Sialkot, saying that there was no doubt to say that Sialkot city still remains a strong hold of PML-N.
On the other hand, PTI’s candidate Usman Dar has termed the victory of Khawaja Asif as engineered rigging and refused to accept the victory.
Hundreds of the highly charged PTI workers came out on the roads in Sialkot city to lodge their strong protest against the victory of PML-N’s Khawaja Muhammad Asif. They chanted slogans against Khawaja Asif, and said that he was declared winner by “aliens” through engineered rigging. They also staged a big demonstration against the rigging. They said that PTI’s candidate Usman Dar was winning here till Thursday afternoon.
PML-N candidate Chaudhary Armughan Subhani defeated PTI candidate Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan in NA-72 constituency with a big margin of votes.
Likewise, Chaudhry Khush Akhtar Subhani won as PML-N candidate by defeating PTI’s candidate Saeed Ahmed Bhalli in PP 38 constituency. According to unofficial results, Armughan got 129041 votes and defeated Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan with 37648 votes, as she could get 91393 votes.
It is the second consecutive defeat of Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan in this constituency. The internal challenges by PTI’s disgruntled local leaders including Chaudhary Ameer Hussain, former speaker National Assembly, and Mian Naeem Javaid, former Sialkot District Nazim, and alleged wrong selection of her panel candidates, PTI’s Mirza Dilawar Baig in constituency PP 34, Sialkot-I and PTI’s Saeed Ahmed Bhalli in constituency PP 38, Sialkot-IV) were the major factor behind the big defeat of PTI. Armughan Subhani had also defeated the then PPP’s candidate Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan in this constituency in 2013 general elections. In NA-74, PML-N’s candidate Ali Zahid Hamid defeated PTI’s Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas with a margin of 3803 votes. Ali Zahid Hamid got 97237 votes while PTI’s Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas got 93434 votes.
In NA 75, PML-N candidate Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah defeated his close rival PTI’s candidate Ali Asjad Malhi with a margin of 40239 votes. It was the third consecutive victory of Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah who this time got 101671 votes while his close rival PTI’s Ali Asjad Malhi could get 61432 votes.
In NA-76, PML-N’s heavy weight candidate Rana Shamim Ahmed defeated PTI’s candidate Brig (r) Muhammad Aslam with a margin of 40474 votes. It was his third consecutive victory. According to the unofficial results, PML-N’s Rana Shamim Ahmed got 133664 votes while his close rival PTI’s candidate Brig (r) Muhammad Aslam Ghuman got 93190 votes. PML-N lost three seats out of total eleven seats of the Punjab assembly in Sialkot district in these general elections.
In Sialkot city’s constituency (PP 36, Sialkot-II), PTI’s candidate Ch. Ikhlaq Ahmed defeated PML-N’s candidate Ch. Muhammad Ikram with a margin of 8975 votes. PTI’s Ch. Ikhalq Ahmed got 51465 votes while PML-N’s Ch. Muhammad Ikram (the former MPA) got 42480 votes here.
In PP-39, Rana Liaqat won defeated PML-N’s candidate Mirza Altaf Hussain with a margin of only 12 votes. PML-N’s dissident Rana Liaqat Ali contested the polls as an independent candidate and got 31086 votes while PML-N’s candidate got 31074 votes. In PP-41, PML-Q’s candidate Bao Muhammad Rizwan, supported by PTI won the seat by defeating PML-N’s candidate Syed Attaul Hassan Shah with a margin of 5808 votes. Bao Rizwan got 32677 votes while Attaul Hassan got 26869 votes.
PML-N’s candidates Rana Arif Iqbal Harnah won in PP-35, Mansha Ullah Butt in PP-37, Ch Khush Akhtar Subhani was elected in PP-38, Rana Afzal in Pasrur city’s PP-40, Mian Zeeshan Rafiq in PP-42 and Ch Naveed Ahsraf in PP-43. In PP 44, Ch Arshad Javaid Warrich defeated PTI’s Azeem Noori Ghuman and in PP-45, Rana Abdul Sattar become successful won.
Similarly, the PML-N won all the two National Assembly seats and four out of total five seats of the Punjab Assembly in Narowal district. The PML-N totally knocked out the PTI, which could not win even a single seat. The results of July 25 elections revealed that the Narowal district was still a stronghold of PML-N which has ousted the PTI from local politics.
PML-N stalwart Ch Ahsan Iqbal again defeated PTI’s central leader/singer Ibrarul Haq in NA-78 constituency with a great margin of the votes. Ahsan Iqbal remain unbeatable as he had defeated Ibrarul Haq in the constituency in 2013 general elections too.
In NA 77, PML-N’s candidate Mehnaz Akbar also defeated PTI’s candidate Mian Rasheed Ahmed with a big lead of the votes. Mehnaz Akbar is the wife of Ch Daniyal Aziz, former federal minister, who was fielded in election race by Ch Daniyal Aziz after his disqualification.
She was a new comer in the election race but she knocked PTI here as her husband conducted her election campaign very effectively in the constituency.
An independent candidate won and elected as member of Punjab Assembly by defeating both PML-N and PTI in PP 46. It was the only seat lost by the PML-N in Narowal district.
PML-N candidate Maulana Ghiyasud Din won in PP 47, PML-N’s Rana Manan Khan clinched the seat of PP 48, PML-N’s Bilal Akbar Khan won in PP 49 seat and PML-N’s potential candidate Khawaja Waseem Butt remained unbeatable and won in PP-50 post.
The jubilant PML-N workers celebrated marvelous victory of PML-N in Narowal district, as they came out on the roads, distributed sweats and they danced there on the loud drum beats in Zafarwal, Shakargarh and Narowal tehsils.