Mohsin Leghari of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) won the by-election to NA-193 (Rajanpur) with a huge margin on Sunday, unofficial result shows.
According to the unofficial result, Mr Mohsin bagged 90,392 votes as compared to 55,218 and 20,074 votes secured by Ammar Awais Khan Leghari of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Akhtar Hassan Khan Gorchani of Pakistan Peoples Party, respectively.
While congratulating Mr Mohsin, PTI Chairman Imran Khan expressed the fear that the victory would “scare” the government and its “handlers”.
“Congratulations to Mohsin Leghari, Meena Leghari, PTI workers & voters for the NA 193 emphatic victory despite govt machinery, neutrals & ECP all working against PTI,” he tweeted.The seat had fallen vacant after the death of PTI MNA Jafar Khan Leghari.
The result was not unexpected as Jafar Khan was quite popular in the area. Jafar Khan had so much influence that even PML-N leaders, sitting Leghari tribe chief Jamal Khan Leghari and his brother Awais Leghari, used his photo during the election campaign.
At the time of picking his ‘political successor’ after Mr Jafar’s death, his widow and former MNA Dr Meena Jafar Khan Leghari had placed the traditional turban on Mr Mohsin’s head amid a boycott of the decision by Mr Awais and Mr Jamal.
There were 237 polling stations for 379,204 registered voters in the NA-193 constituency.According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the polling, in which 379,204 voters exercised their right to vote, began at 8 am till 5 pm without break.
Overall, the voting process remained peaceful at all the 237 polling stations.
There were incidents of clashes at polling stations 233, 234 and a couple of others, but police were able to quickly bring the law and order situation under control.
A large number of women exercised their right to vote in the election.
Strict security arrangements were made for the by-election with more than 2,000 policemen and officials deployed at the polling stations.
Soldiers of the Pakistan Army and Rangers were present to help the police.
Moreover, there was a complete ban on carrying mobile phones inside the polling stations.
The candidates of the top three parties visited the polling stations to observe the voting process.
In the 2018 general elections, PTI’s Sardar Mohammad Jaffar Khan Leghari had bagged the seat with 81,358 votes.
As soon as the news of the PTI candidate’s victory spread, the jubilant party activists started celebrating with fireworks.
They showered the winning candidate, who joined them in the celebrations, with flower petals.
Speaking on the occasion, Mohsin expressed his gratitude to the Almighty for his victory.
He also thanked his constituents for helping him in winning the seat.
Mohsin said his win had proven that whenever the elections are held in a free and transparent manner, “thieves” and “turncoats” would face defeat.
He added that the people had “buried” the politics of police stations, legal cases and intimidation today.
Mohsin maintained that the people backed the narrative of PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan.
The PTI chief congratulated his party’s candidate, activists and supporters over the victory.
In his message, Imran said his party had defied all odds, including the State machinery, “neutrals”, and the ECP’s “connivance”, to secure the seat.
He claimed that the victory would spread more fear among the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and its ”handlers”.
Therefore, expect more pressure on the Supreme Court judges, he added.
