SIALKOT – The Pakistan People’s Party has decided to field its candidates in all the five National Assembly constituencies in Sialkot district for the upcoming general elections, ignoring the seat-adjustment deal with the PML-Q.
Ch Ejaz Ahmed Cheema, general secretary of the PPP Sialkot district, told the media at Sambrial that the PPP had decided to field its own candidates in the district. The constituencies are: NA 110 (Sialkot City), NA 111 (Bajwat-Sialkot), NA 112 (Sambrial), NA 113 (Daska) and NA 114 (Pasrur).
In the 2008, the PPP won only one National Assembly seat out of total five seats in Sialkot district. PPP’s Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan knocked out PML-Q’s Chaudhary Ameer Hussain, the then speaker of National Assembly, with a great majority of votes in the constituency.
Under the seat adjustment formula, the PML-Q was demanding two seats (NA-112 Sambrial and NA 114 Pasrur) from PPP, as the PML-Q was also intending to field its own candidates in these two constituencies, which to be supported by the PPP as the joint candidates of both PPP and PML-Q.
In 2008 general elections, the PPP stood runners-up in two constituencies (NA 110 Sialkot) and (NA 113 Daska). Now, the PPP has decided to field its own candidates in all the five above-mentioned national assembly seats in Sialkot district.
Cheema said that the PPP was considering three names of its expected candidates including Ch Zahid Bashir, President PPP Sialkot City and runner up in 2008 election, Raja Aamir Khan and Malik Riaz Hussain, chairman of Behria Town Islamabad, to field one of them as PPP candidate to defeat PML-N’s four-time winner MNA Khawaja Muhammad Asif in NA 110.
He said that the PPP would again field Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan in NA 111 as its candidate. PML-N and PML-Q are still searching potential candidates to defeat Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, who had knocked out PML-Q’s Chaudhary Ameer Hussain with a great margin of votes in 2008 polls. It is learnt that in NA 112 Sambrial, PML-Q Chief Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain remained the runner-up, as he was knocked out by PML-N’s Rana Abdul Sattar with a great margin of more than 50,000 votes in the 2008 general elections.
Now, instead of giving this seat to PML-Q under the seat adjustment deal, the PPP has almost finalised to field Ch Ejaz Ahmed Cheema, the general secretary of PPP Sialkot district, as PPP candidate. Tough PML-Q’s candidate Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain remained the runner up in the constituency, but the margin of the votes was more than 50,000 which caused defeat of Chaudhary Shujaat. Thus, the PPP was not intending to lose this seat in coming 2013 general elections by giving this seat to PML-Q under the seat adjustment. The PPP provincial leadership had decided to field Ch Ejaz Ahmed Cheema in the constituency.
In Daska, the PPP would again field Dr Syed Zaheer ul Hassan Rizvi (the runner up of 2008 general elections) in NA 113 Daska. In Pasrur, the PPP was hesitating to give NA 114 Pasrur seat to PML-Q under the seat adjustment policy.
The Variyo family’s head, Ch Abdul Sattar, was the runner-up in the constituency against the PML-N’s Zahid Hamid in 2008 general elections. Now, the PML-Q was demanding this seat from PPP.  During his recent address to a big public meeting in bordering Sabzpeer village of Pasrur, Deputy Prime Minister Pervaiz Elahi had nominated Maqsud Ahmed Sulehria, former tehsil nazim of Pasrur, as PML-Q candidate in NA 114 Pasrur for the upcoming 2013 general elections.
Ejaz Cheema said that the PPP was considering Ghulam Abbas, former provincial minister, to name him as PPP candidate in NA 114 Pasrur against the PML-N’s candidate Zahid Hamid.   However, Khalid Malik, the younger brother Interior Minister Rehman Malik, could also be in this race to get the PPP ticket. During the ongoing , pre polls political scenario of Pasrur tehsil, both Ghulam Abbas and Khalid Malik are busy jazzing up their mass contact campaign.