Jahangir Jhoja group likely to win LBA poll

He is contesting against Chaudhry Tanveer Akhtar

LAHORE: A tough competition is expected between the Friends’ Group and the Professional Group in the election for the office of the president of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) on Saturday (today).

Pundits say Arshad Jahangir Jhoja of the Friends’ Group (led by Asma Jahangir) is likely to beat Chaudhry Tanveer Akhtar of the Professional Group (led by Hamid Khan) by a close margin.

As many as 15,620 lawyers are eligible to cast ballots to elect the LBA executive body for 2016-17 year. The polling will be held at the district and sessions’ court from 9am to 5pm.

Jhoja says lawyers associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party as well as the incumbent leadership of the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court Bar Associations and the Pakistan and Punjab Bar Councils have endorsed his candidacy.

Akhtar says that besides lawyers’ wings of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik, the Jamatud Dawa, the Khatam-i-Nabuwat, several lawyers associated with the PML-N and noted members of the PBC are also supporting him.

There are nine contenders for the two vice president seats. Pundits say Irfan Sadiq Tarar and Naveed Chughtai are likely to clinch the seats. However, they say that by securing votes of lawyers belonging to the Rana biraderi Rana Saeed Anwar is likely to put up tough competition if there is a division of votes along biraderi lines.

Shehzad Khan Kakar is likely to win the vice president seat in the Model Town courts. There are 12 contenders for the two secretary seats. Babar Humayun Chohan and Chaudhary Irfan Ali are likely to win the seats.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2016.