ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sprung surprises as it announced the names of 60 per cent of its candidates for national and provincial assembly seats, ignoring some of its diehard and prominent leaders in the process.
The party has fielded candidates against 173 out 272 seats of National Assembly and 290 against 427 seats of the provincial assemblies with party chief Imran Khan to run for five constituencies – NA-53 Islamabad, NA-35 Bannu, NA-95 Mianwali, NA-131 Lahore and NA-243 Karachi.
There is growing resentment among the party workers and leaders who have not been given tickets as the party opted for many new faces this time. In a bid to pacify them, the PTI chief in a video message said: “Ticket is not everything.”
He said awarding tickets was a difficult task as from more than 500 aspirant election candidates were picked.
The prominent leaders among those ignored include former provincial minister of KP Shaukat Yousafzai, former MNA Ali Muhammad Khan, Firdaus Ashiq Awan, and Sheryar Afridi.
Mr Shaukat from Peshawar, who served as the health minister, was ignored for town councillor Kamran Khan Bangash, who is little known in political circles.
