PPP wins first NA seat from Punjab after four years

LAHORE: The victory of Pakistan Peoples Party’s candidate Syed Ali Musa Gilani on the National Assembly NA-157 has ended the party’s seat draught from Punjab as it had failed to win any NA seat from the province for the last four years. Besides, PPP had won only two National Assembly seats from Punjab for the last ten years.

In February 2012, Shah Mehmood Qureshi joined Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf and resigned from the NA- 148 seat that he had won in 2008 on PPP’s ticket. In the by-polls, PPP awarded the ticket to Ali Musa Gilani who emerged as victorious by defeating the main rival PMLN’s Abdul Ghaffar Dogar. He bagged over 93,000 votes.

Since then, PPP’s performance in the by-polls and the general elections in Punjab remained dismal. Malik Ghulam Rabbani Khar was the only PPP ticket holder who managed to win the NA seat in by-polls after 2013 elections. This time around, PPP’s Ali Musa Gilani, son of former prime minister Syed Yosuf Raza Gilani, won the NA- 157 seat by defeating Meher Bano Qureshi, daughter of former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The seat was vacated by Qureshi’s son Syed Zain Qureshi.