LAHORE: In the midst of prevailing survey predictions favoring the PTI in the 2024 general elections, the PML-N has made significant strides in Lahore, setting the stage for a closely contested battle in the provincial capital of Punjab—a region once deemed the stronghold of the Nawaz Sharif-led party.
One of the focal points of this tight competition is NA-122 Lahore-VI, one among the 14 constituencies where PML-N and PTI are expected to engage in a neck-and-neck contest.
The PTI has nominated Sarda Latif Kosa, a lawyer closely associated with the party’s founder Imran Khan. Kosa has previously served as the Governor of Punjab and held the position of attorney general of Pakistan and remained member of upper house of the Parliament.
On the other hand, the PML-N has selected Khawaja Saad Rafiq, who posed a formidable challenge to Imran Khan in the 2018 general elections in this very constituency, Previously designated as NA-131.
Moreover, Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated Dr. Zeba Waqar as their candidate.
Campaign activities are in full swing in Constituency NA-122, with Khawaja Saad Rafiq taking the lead in his election campaign through a series of corner meetings. There is speculation about upcoming visits by Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif to bolster the campaign, coinciding with ongoing construction along Walton Road.
While Sardar Latif Kosa is also conducting a door-to-door campaign, yesterday, his son, Advocate Shahbaz Kosa, was briefly arrested by the Lahore Police for distributing election pamphlets.
The constituency boasts a total of 345,763 voters, consisting of 197,264 males and 148,499 females. Encompassing parts of Lahore’s defense and cantonment areas, NA-122 has a total population of 953,104.
2018 General Elections
In the 2018 general elections, a heated contest unfolded in the NA-131 constituency between Imran Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and PML-N candidate Khawaja Saad Rafiq. Imran Khan secured victory with a narrow margin of 84,313 votes, defeating Saad Rafiq, who received 83,633 votes. Notably, Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) candidate Syed Murtaza Hasan and People’s Party candidate Asim Mehmood also garnered significant votes, with 9,780 and 6,746 votes, respectively.
Khawaja Saad Rafiq, who later served as Railway Minister in PDM government, emerged victorious in the by-election after Imran Khan opted to retain the Mainwali seat, leading to the vacating of his other seats.
