The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has become single largest party in terms of fielding maximum number of candidates for general elections, by covering almost 90% of the National and Provincial Assembly seats across the country.
The party has awarded tickets to candidates for 244 out of total 272 National Assembly (NA) constituencies (89%), and 522 out of total 577 Provincial Assembly (PA) constituencies (90.2%).
From the PTI platform, women activists will contest direct elections on a total of 38 constituencies – 14 on NA seats and 24 on PA seats.
The PTI has made electoral alliances through seat adjustments in various constituencies: with the Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-led Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), with the Sheikh Rasheed-led Awami Muslim League (AML), with the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), and with the Ijazul Haq-led Pakistan Muslim League – Ziaul Haq (PML-Z).
In its final list, the PTI has made a couple of amendments.
The party has withdrawn its ticket from its earlier announced candidate for NA-64 (Chakwal) Sardar Ghulam Abbas and awarded it to Zulfiqar Ali Khan.
Interestingly, Zulfiqar Ali Khan was earlier awarded a PA ticket by the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N).
Until yesterday he was the PML-N’s candidate from PP-23 (Chakwal-III).
However, he managed to win the PTI’s ticket from NA-64 and subsequently announced quitting the PML-N and surrendering its ticket.
On June 27, nomination papers of Sardar Ghulam Abbas were rejected by an appellate tribunal of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
He challenged the decision before the LHC and a two-judge bench headed by Justice Muzahir Naqvi, while suspending the decision of rejection order, fixed the case for hearing on July 3.
Even so, the PTI’s legal team is of the opinion that LHC is likely to reject Abbas’s nomination papers due to certain issues, leading to the party leadership’s decision to change its candidate in the constituency.
The situation has infuriated Abbas, who opines that party leadership made the decision in haste.
“I joined the PTI with a commitment … it was my wish that I could do something good for my constituents through the platform of the PTI,” he told his supporters gathered outside his house.
Reliable sources say that PTI ticket holders from PP-21, 22 and 23, who are close political aides of Abbas, are also planning to review their decision of contesting elections on PTI tickets.
“Imran Khan is my friend since 1992. He has lost his first wicket today,” Abbas said, adding that the decision to withdraw ticket from him had been made by party’s second-tier leadership.
Similarly, on NA-176 (Rahim Yar Khan) Mian Ghous has replaced the earlier-announced Makhdum Khusroo Bakhtiar.
Bakhtiar was given tickets from NA-176 and NA-177. Now he will only contest from NA-177.
On the disputed constituency of NA-154 (Multan), the party ticket has been awarded to Malik Ahmed Hussain Dehar instead of Jahangir Khan Tareen-backed candidate Sikandar Bosan.
In NA-10 (Shangla), the PTI has changed its candidate: now, the party ticket has been given to Waqar Ahmad Khan, after withdrawing it from previous candidate Nawaz Mehmood.
For Punjab, the PTI has fielded 285 candidates for 297 seats.
Sindh, with 130 PA seats, will see 98 PTI candidates.
The PTI is fielding 98 candidates for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 99 seats.
And in Baluchistan, which has 51 seats, PTI candidates were announced on 41 seats.