Islamabad [Pakistan] : The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has decided to challenge the Sharif brothers in their stronghold of Lahore in the upcoming general elections to be held on February 8, Geo News reported, citing sources on Friday.
It reported that the PPP chief will contest from Lahore’s NA-138 constituency, which has traditionally been the stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with the party securing a majority of seats from the provincial capital in the last many elections.
Bilawal is likely to fill out nomination papers today, as December 22 is the last date for submission of nomination papers.
Along with Bilawal, Hafiz Mohiuddin and Misbah-ur-Rehman will file nomination papers for the provincial assembly seats in the same constituency, they added.
Although several political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have sought an extension on the deadline, no decision has been taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) so far.
PML-N’s Mian Ahmed Subhan will contest elections against the PPP chief in the NA-128 constituency.
Besides Bilawal, several political heavyweights, including PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz, Nawaz Sharif and others, are also expected to contest polls from Punjab’s capital, Geo News reported.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has also announced contesting polls from three constituencies, including Lahore.
The much-awaited general elections will take place on February 8, 2024, with the national poll organising authority finally issuing the schedule following the Supreme Court’s order.
