149 candidates return unopposed days ahead of LG election in Sukkur division.

SUKKUR -- A total of 149 candidates, mostly associated with the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, among them Zeerak Shah, son of senior PPP leader and current federal minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, former Sukkur mayor Arsalan Islam Sheikh and former deputy mayor Tariq Chohan, have emerged unopposed winners in Sukkur division ahead of local government election on June 26.

More than three million registered voters will use their right to vote in the division, which comprises three districts of Sukkur, Khairpur and Ghotki.

The ruling PPP appears to be in a strong position in all the districts and is more likely to sweep the polls easily except in some areas of Sukkur district where it may face some spirited fight from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

In some pockets of Khairpur and Ghotki districts as well, the PPP will have to fight it out with Pakistan Muslims League-Functional and

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidates who may cause some trouble for the ruling party.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 6,032 candidates are running for different LG seats in the division where number of registered voters stand at 3,080,868. Of them, 1,634,035 are male and 1,374,833 are female.

The candidates for chairmen and vice chairmen of two union councils in rural areas and chairmen and vice chairmen of four union committees in urban areas, three town councilors and 34 general councilors have won unopposed in the three districts while as many as 267 candidates have submitted forms to the ECP for the two top offices in 42 union councils and 32 union committees.

In the rural UC-17, PPP candidate Peer Bukhsh (chairman), Nadeem Akhtar (vice chairman) and Zahid Ali (district councilor) won unopposed and in UC-4, Zahoor Ahmed (chairman) and Talib Hussain (vice chairman) were declared winners unopposed.

In four union committees of Sukkur city, Anum Arsalan Sheikh (chairman) and Ali Hassan Meerani (vice chairman) won unopposed in union committee-1 Maki Shah town and in union committee 10, former Sukkur mayor Arsalan Islam Sheikh (chairman) and Murtaza Ghanghro returned unopposed.

In union committee-5 Nisar Ahmed Siddique town, Abdul Rahman Mangal (chairman) and Zeerak Shah (vice chairman), son of senior PPP leader and federal minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, have been declared winners unopposed while former deputy mayor Tariq Chohan (chairmen) and Abdul Rahman (vice chairman) have also returned unopposed.

In Khairpur district, out of...