By-polls results discomfiting for PTI

The results of by-elections in the country have revealed interesting statistics. In Punjab, the election results increased the confidence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN).

The voters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) looked disappointed and the party could not perform like February 8. The benefit of PTI voters not coming out resulted in a big lead for PMLN.

In Punjab, elections were held on two seats of National Assembly (NA) and 12 seats of Provincial Assembly (PA). The PMLN was successful on both the NA seats and won in nine PA constituencies. Out of 9, one seat was won by an independent candidate supported by PTI in the general elections.

Election was held on NA-119 Lahore, vacated by Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz. The PMLN remained successful again. According to unofficial results, PMLN’s Ali Pervez Malik got 60,918 votes, while Shahzad Farooq of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) secured 34,094 votes.

The vote bank of both PMLN and PTI has decreased in the by-polls as compared to general elections held on February 8. The margin of PMLN victory, however, has increased, as Maryam Nawaz had got 83,855 votes, while Shahzad Farooq 68,376 votes.

Similarly, Shehbaz Sharif was successful from National Assembly constituency NA-132 from Kasur. He kept the National Assembly seat from Lahore. The PMLN was successful on this seat once again. Malik Rashid Khan of PMLN won the seat with 137,768 votes, while Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar of SIC got 86,000 votes. The PMLN retained its vote bank, but PTI’s vote bank has decreased considerably. PMLN’s margin of victory has also increased, as Shehbaz Sharif had got 137,768 votes in the general elections, while PTI-supported candidate Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar secured 111,116 votes. The margin of his defeat against Shehbaz Sharif was 26,116 votes which increased to 51,768 votes this time.

Let’s review the results of Punjab Assembly seats from Lahore. PP-147 was vacated by Hamza Shehbaz when he retained the NA seat. The PMLN was successful again on this seat. According to the unofficial results, Mohammad Riaz Malik of PMLN got 31,842 votes in by-polls, while independent candidate Mohammad Khan Madni secured second place with 16,548 votes.

The votes of both candidates have decreased from this constituency, but the margin of PMLN victory has increased. According to February 8 elections results, Hamza Shehbaz got 51,838 votes and PTI-supported Muhammad Khan Madni 46,494. This time, he has been defeated by a margin of 15,293 votes.

Similarly, Shehbaz Sharif was successful in the February 8 election from PP-158 Lahore. He chose National Assembly seat. The PMLN won the seat again. Ch Muhammad Nawaz of PMLN received 39.946 votes, while Moonis Elahi of SIC got 27,980 votes. While the vote bank of PMLN increased a little in this constituency, the vote bank of PTI increased a lot despite the defeat, and the margin of its defeat has also decreased. In February 8 elections, Shehbaz Sharif got 38,642 votes and PTI-backed candidate Ch Yusuf Ali bagged 23,847. His margin of defeat was 14,795, which reduced to 11,966.

Shehbaz Sharif had left the PP-164 seat from Lahore. The PMLN was again successful on the seat in the by-election. According to unofficial results, Muhammad Rashid Minhas of PMLN won with 31,499 votes, while SIC Muhammad Yusuf remained second with 25,781 votes. From this constituency, PMLN has increased its vote bank, while that of PTI has decreased a little, which increased the margin of PMLN victory. Shehbaz got 27,099 votes from the constituency, while PTI-backed Muhammad Yusuf received 25,919 votes, and his margin of defeat was 1,180 votes, which has now become 5,718 votes.

Aleem Khan of Istehkam Pakistan Party (IPP) was successful from PP-149 Lahore in the general elections. Aleem vacated the seat and opted for National Assembly. The IPP won from here again in the by-elections. According to unofficial results, Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui got 38,537 votes while Zeeshan Rashid of SIC remained second with 24,206 votes.

In this constituency, vote bank of both the parties has decreased compared to the February 8 elections. The margin of defeat of PTI has increased, as in general election, Aleem Khan got 51,756 votes, while Zeeshan Rasheed got 47,998 votes, and the margin of his defeat was 3,758. This time, the IPP won the seat with a difference of 14,331 votes.

The most important result came from PP-36 Wazirabad. The PMLN has won the seat vacated by an independent candidate supported by PTI. Adnan Afzal Chattha of PMLN got 74,779 votes, while Muhammad Fayyaz Chatta of SIC got 58,682. The vote bank of PMLN has increased by 25,551 votes, while PTI lost 28,867 votes.

Similarly, PMLN has won the seat vacated by independent candidate from PP-93 Bhakkar. Saeed Akbar Khan Nawani of PMLN won by getting 62,058 votes in the by-election from this constituency. In the general elections, independent candidate Inayat Shahani was successful, while Saeed Akbar Nawani did not contest from this constituency.

The PMLN has won its seat from PP-54 Narowal. This seat was vacated by Ahsan Iqbal. Now his son Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry has won from here by getting 60,351 votes, while SIC’s Owais Qasim got 46,686 votes. Ahmed Iqbal got more votes than Ahsan Iqbal from this constituency. Ahsan Iqbal got 33,243 votes and Owais Qasim 31,060 votes in the general elections. Some 27,000 votes have been added to the vote bank of PMLN, while the vote bank of Owais Qasim has increased by 15,626 votes.

The PMLN has won its seat again from PP-22 Chakwal. Falak Sher Awan won the seat by getting 58,845, while SCI candidate secured 49,970 votes. The vote bank of both the parties has decreased in this constituency. The PTI has lost 4,107 votes while PMLN 2,869.