GUJRAT: Once considered a strong party in Gujrat, the PPP is struggling to find suitable candidates for two National and four Punjab Assembly seats of Gujrat tehsil.

Former PPP stalwart Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull is now a PML-N nominee for NA-68 (Jalalpur Jattan-Tanda), while former federal minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who had been contesting for NA-69 (previously NA-105) Gujrat-Kunjah since 1990 against the Chaudhrys of PML-Q on a PPP ticket, has not been in the electoral race since losing the last general elections.

Mr Mukhtar, who had won the seat twice (in 1993 and 2008) and lost thrice (1990, 1997 and 2002) against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, could secure only 10,000 votes in the 2013 elections clinching the fourth position in the race that was won by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

However, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is said to have approached Mr Mukhtar to decide about contesting the 2018 elections or at least suggest a substitute candidate in the constituency. Mukhtar’s son Faisal Mukhtar had called on Mr Zardari last week in Lahore through whom the co-chairman delivered the message to Ahmed Mukhtar.

Sources in the PPP said Faisal Mukhtar was interested in contesting elections, but his father and other family members were not allowing him to jump into the race since his paternal uncle, Ahmed Saeed, was involved in politics from rival PML-N platform and could become a candidate from NA-69.

On the other hand, PPP Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira has approached various politicians in NA-68 to convince them to contest as the party’s candidate and one of them reportedly expressed interest, but later declined the offer.

Another PPP old guard in Gujrat, the Pagganwala family’s former MNA Sameena Fakhar Pagganwala, has not been interested in contesting direct elections from her native constituency, NA-69, but her family sources say she could apply for a reserved seat as she did in 2008 and was chosen as MNA on a reserved seat for women.

However the PPP’s potential candidates for two of the four provincial assembly seats in the tehsil are Dr Farhan Mir for PP-29 (Jalalpur Jattan) and Advocate Wazirun Nissa PP-31 (Gujrat city).

Unlike Gujrat tehsil, the PPP has candidates for the two National Assembly seats of the district. Party stalwart Qamar Zaman Kaira will be the party candidate from NA-70 (Lalamusa-Dinga), and his cousin Zia Mohiuddin from NA-71 (Kharian-Sara-i-Alamgir). But the party sure is finding it difficult to assign candidates on six out of the seven provincial assembly seats of the district.

PPP Gujrat district General Secretary Dr Zahid Zaheer said that although the party was facing difficulties in finding suitable candidates for both NA seats of Gujrat tehsil, they still had various options.

He said the party leadership was in touch with Mr Ahmed Mukhtar to know whether he was willing to contest the elections or not. As soon as he announces his decision, the PPP would announce its candidates for all national and provincial assembly seats of the district.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2018