Daily Times

A tough contest is being expected in PP-97, Chak Jhumrah slot during the by-elections as both the candidates belong to Jutt clan.

Elders and notables of the Jutt clan are in a confusing situation to whom they will vote as both candidates have strong footages in their constituency.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N awarded ticket to Ajmal Cheema by ignoring its previous candidate Azad Ali Tabbasum and Ali Afzal Sahi was fielded by PTI. Ali Afzal is the son of former Speaker Punjab Assembly Afzal Sahi.

In the last general elections, Muhammad Ajmal Cheema had won the PP-97 election as an independent candidate. He secured votes 42,273 and defeated Ali Afzal Sahi who obtained 37,932 votes.

Mr Cheema joined the PTI due to Jahangir Khan Tareen. The seat of PP-97 is lying vacant as Ajmal Cheema was disqualified this year by the Election Commission of Pakistan as he ignored the party advice and cast his vote in favour Hamza Shahbaz for Chief Minister of Punjab.

Currently, 12 Candidates are contesting including Ali Afzal, Ajmal Cheema, Ali Ahmed JIP, Muhammad Sohaib Aslam PNP, Naveed Shafee TLP, Rizwan Liaqat, Sher Afgan, Tariq Mehmood, Fawad Ahmed Cheema, Muhammad Asif Aziz, Muhammad Aamir Nawaz and Wasim Akram are independent candidates.

Total numbers of polling stations in this constituency are 168, of them 68 for men, 64 for women and 36 are combined.

The number of registered voters are approximately 2,38,452, with male voters 130,386 and female voters 1,08,066.

Ali Arshad, of Barnala a locality of PP-97 said, when the campaign was launched the situation 2as in favour of Cheema but now situation was going otherwise as none of the PMLN top leader came to Chak Jhumrah for his election campaign.

He said in the last general elections, the PTI awarded three tickets–NA-101 to Zafar Zulqarnain Sahi, nephew of Afzal Sahi, Ali Afzal Sahi for PP-97, son of Afzal Sahi and PP-98 Afzal Sahi–to Sahi family which enraged the voters who supported Ajmal Cheema.

But this time, popularity of Imran Khan is touching the sky and Cheema is struggling a lot to win the confidence of voters.

We can not say that Sahi will win easily although the PTI leaders are running the election campaign vehemently, he added.

Talha Hussain, another voter said, last time PTI enraged the voters of the constituency by awarding tickets to a turncoat family and this time PMLN repeated the same mistake and awarded ticket to Cheema who had done nothing for the party in the constituency.

He said PMLN staunch supporters were not actively involved in the election campaign of Cheema.

Former Prime Minister and chairman PTI, Imran Khan is expected to visit the constituency today (15) for election campaign of Sahi.