THATTA, Oct 13: The PML-Q’s MNAs and the MPAs elected from Thatta have rejected charges of rigging levelled against them by the PPP candidates, saying their rivals should accept the people’s verdict.

They were talking to newsmen here on Sunday.

Terming the results a popular no-confidence against the People’s Party Parliamentarians, the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) legislators, said instead of levelling false accusations, the PPP candidates should realise the ground realities.

The PML(Q) has bagged two National Assembly and four Provincial Assembly seats from the district.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Ayaz Ali Shah Shirazi, elected from NA-237 and PS-86, Mohammad Ali Malkani (NA- 238), Syed Manzoor Shah Shirazi (PS-84), Dr Imtiaz Shah Shirazi (PS-88), and Haji Usman Malkani (PS-87).

The local political analysts, while comparing the current voters’ turnout with the past trend, have expressed their surprise.

The total number of votes in NA-237 (Thatta-I) is 329,201.

During the past elections — from 1988 to 1997 — the total number of votes cast never exceeded 90,000.

However, this number crossed 120,000 mark during Election 2002 with the PML-Q bagging 57,958 votes while the runners up PPP candidate got 53,625 votes.

In NA-238 (Thatta-II), which has 288,408 registered voters, the PML-Q candidate Mohammad Ali Malkani won the election by securing 70,125 votes, defeating his PPP rival who managed to secure 40,719 votes. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Qasmi of the MMA got 5,000 votes from this constituency.

The total number of votes cast in the constituency during this election was 118,000.

Interestingly, the PPP’s Ghulam Mustafa Shah had won this seat in the 1988 polls — when the party’s popularity graph had peaked after the return of Benazir Bhutto — with 73,332 votes against 4,464 votes bagged by his rival JUI candidate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Qasmi.

Arbab Wazir Ahmed Memon of the PPP had also won this seat in the 1990 election by securing 33,638 votes against 25,386 votes bagged by his rival Syed Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi.

In the 1993 polls, another PPP candidate, Abdul Rehman Memon, had won this seat with 53,640 votes, defeating Shafqat, who got 40,000 votes.

Shafqat had defeated his PPP rival in 1997 elections on this seat with 42,000 votes. His opponent, Abdul Rehman Memon, had bagged 34,000 votes.

Contrary to the general trend, the turnout shot up to 60 and 70 per cent in Thatta district against the average turnout of 20 to 25 per cent all over the country.

PPP: The PPP leaders on Sunday criticized the ‘‘political victimisation of their party workers’’, saying the government should provide protection to them.

This was said in a press release issued by PPP’s district president Abdul Wahid Soomro, ex-MNA Babu Ghulam Hussain, MPA- elect Sassui Palejo, member Sindh council Aijaz Ali Khwaja and Imtiaz Qureshi.

Enumerating the excesses, they said over a dozen activists have so far been implicated in fictitious cases and the properties of the PPP workers have been set ablaze at Gujjo.