GUJRAT: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) may extend tacit support to senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the upcoming election, by not pitching its candidate in NA-69, (Gujrat city-Kunjah), if its stalwart Ahmad Mukhtar excuses himself from the contest.

A reliable source in the PPP told Dawn on Tuesday that the party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had asked its Punjab chapter not to field any candidate in the constituency in case former federal minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar was not willing to contest the 2018 elections from there.

Ahmed Mukhtar, a PPP stalwart and Chaudhrys of the PML-Q had been the arch rivals in local politics as both had been contesting polls against each other since 1990.

The source said the PPP had also not received any application for ticket from NA-69, Gujrat (II) since it was considered marked for Mr Mukhtar who had not been active in local politics since losing the last general elections (2013) to Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

So far neither Mr Mukhtar, nor any of his close family member, has collected the nomination papers from the office of the returning officer concerned.

The source said that more than two weeks ago, Mr Zardari had conveyed a message to Mr Mukhtar through the latter’s son Faisal Mukhtar, asking him to let the party know his decision regarding his election plans. The party was yet to receive any response from Mr Mukhtar, he added.

A district official of the PPP said that since Mr Mukhtar had not responded to the message, the party could leave the field open for its former coalition partner, the PML-Q, in NA-69. However, he added the matter of extending active support to the Q would be decided later.

Meanwhile, he said, the party had received two applications for ticket from its local workers in NA-68.

It is learnt that Zia Mohiuddin, the PPP district president, who is also a cousin of senior party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, and was expected to be a candidate from NA-71 (Kharian-Sara-i-Alamgir), has also not applied for the ticket.

However, both Qamar Zaman Kaira and Tanveer Ashraf Kaira will contest from NA-70 and PP-33 (Lalamusa), respectively, from the PPP platform, the source said.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2018