Electioneering for PS-86 Johi seat picks up momentum.

Byline: Qurban Ali Khushik

DADU -- Electioneering by aspirants for the PS-86 Johi seat of the Sindh Assembly has picked up momentum with rival candidates holding rallies and corner meetings in different parts of the constituency.

The seat has fallen vacant after the death of MPA Pir Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani the Pir of Naing Sharif and the Election CommisAsion of Pakistan has scheduled the by-election for Nov 7.

The deceased MPA belonAged to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has fielAded his son, Syed MohamAmad Sualeh Shah to retain the seat.

The PPP candidate is facing a tough contest with PakAistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate Sardar Imdad Ali Leghari although there are three independent contestants Sardar Shuja Ahmed Panhwar, Syed Zaffar Ali Shah and Syed Mohammad Shah in the fray.

Until recently PTI was believed to have been in a position to cause an upset in the by-election after PPP's defeat in the recent by-election in Larkana, but PPP seems to have managed to stabilise its position by winning over a couple of local PTI leaders.

Sardar Bandah Ali LeghAari, a close associate of former Sindh chief minister and federal minister LiaqAuat Ali Jatoi and two other influential political figures, Sardar Gul MohamAmad RodAAhAnani and Abdul Fatah Dahiri, recently parted ways with PTI to join PPP.

PPP believes that these three heavyweights of the constituency will effectively undermine PTI's

vote bank in the by-election. Still, political pundits in Dadu district see a tough contest between the two major parties in Johi considering the falling graph of PPP in this part of the province.

While Liaquat Ali Jatoi is personally attending and addressing the rallies and corner meetings of PTI candidate Sardar Imdad Ali Leghari, former senator Sadaqat Ali Jatoi and former district nazim Karim Ali Jatoi are supplementing the campaign with their appearances at such gatherings.

In his speech, Sardar Imdad called for a 'change' in Johi pointing out that PPP did not bring about any improvement in the infrastructure and basic facilities during 12 years of its rule over the province.

He pledged to work for provision of all basic amenities and ensure all required development works in the...