Sharifs get lion's share of Lahore seats

Khokhar family, known for close ties with Nawaz and Maryam, emerges as most favoured kin

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday finally lifted the curtain on its Lahore tickets and with 41 seats up for grabs, the Sharif family retained eight seats exclusively just for itself – seemingly turning the electoral battleground into a family fiesta while leaving tongues wagging within the party.

The party also left the field open in two Lahore constituencies for IPP. Meanwhile, its another ally, PML-Q, which had once bet its political survival on saving the PML-N-led government, called off seat adjustment with it owing a paltry offering of seats.
However, the Khokhar family, renowned for their close ties with the party chief and his daughter, emerged as the most favourite, securing seven seats, including two national and five provincial.

The party also accommodated both its senior leaders Sheikh Rohail Asghar and former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq on NA constituencies, after the former refused to give up his seat for the latter, forcing the party to accommodate the latter on a neighbouring constituency NA 120, according to PML-N office bearer.

It also left two seats NA-117 and NA-128 open for IPP. According to IPP leadership, these seats were left open for IPP President Aleem Khan and Awn Chaudary.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, as per the notification, would be contesting from NA-130, party president from NA-123 and PP-164, PP-158.

Shehbaz Sharif would also be contesting from Kasur NA-132. Interestingly, he opted out of the race for NA-242 Karachi, realising that securing victory without the backing of local player would be difficult.

Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz would be vying for election in NA-119 and PP-159. Simultaneously, Hamza Shehbaz is set to compete in NA-118 and PP-147, a provincial assembly seat falling within NA-117, a constituency left open for IPP President Aleem Khan.

Read: PML-Q shuns seat adjustment with PML-N

Khokhar brothers

The Khokhar siblings secured a surprising number of seats in Lahore, exceeding the expectations of many observers.
Muhammad Afzal Khokhar got NA-125 while his elder brother Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar got NA-126. Besides, their family was given four provincial assembly seats.

Known for being financiers of elder Sharif, the allocation of this many tickets has raised many eyebrows in the party.
A former parliamentarian pointed out that senior party workers, such as former MNA Waheed Alam Khan, were completely overlooked, and there was potential for their accommodation in these seats.

In a striking example, the constituency where Waheed enjoys significant support was instead assigned to PML-N Deputy General Secretary Ata Tarar.

However, the party announced a Senate ticket for its leader Talal Chaudary, who hails from Faisalabad, especially after his seat was allocated to PTI defectors Nawab Sher Waseer.

Initially, it was being speculated that Awn had shown interest in NA-124. However, talking to The Express Tribune, he confirmed that he had in fact sought NA-128 for himself.

He said IPP was given seven MNA seats and 11 MPA seats. He sounded satisfied with the seat adjustment with PML-N, contrary to the reports in media suggesting that IPP was unhappy with adjustment on less than two dozen seats.

Contrary to IPP which was largely keeping a lid on its feelings, PML-Q came down hard on PML-N for not giving them enough seats. The PML-Q asked PML-N to keep the few seats it had left open for PML-Q for itself.

IPP leader Raja Yawar said that they were satisfied with the number of seats, adding that they had never asked for 100 seats from PML-N as was being reported by media.

He said they had asked for 30 NA and 40 MPA seats. However, they were aware that PML-N might not agree to all these seats. He said on his seat PP-24, PML-N candidate withdrew his nomination papers in accordance with the understanding with PML-N.