PML-N’s Khurshid Bhandar wins NA-79 recount over PTI candidate

GUJRANWALA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Chaudhary Zulfiqar Bhindar successfully won the vote recount for the constituency of NA-79 in Gujranwala.

Chaudhary Zulfiqar Bhindar of PML-N was declared the winner from NA-79 constituency with 95,604 votes, according to government sources.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Chaudhary Ahsaanullah Virk is runnerup by securing 92,581 votes.

NA-79 contingency encompassing parts of Gujranwala including Eminabad town, as well as Gujranwala Saddar district. It also includes Kamoke district, which __ Kamoke city within the Gujranwala district.

It has a registered electorate of 599,139 and has witnessed considerable shifts in political dynamics over the years.

In the recent general election held on February 8, Chaudhary Ahsaanullah Virk emerged victorious with 103,708 votes as an independent candidate. He took 35.34 per cent of the total vote count. PML-N’s Chaudhary Zulfiqar Bhindar came in second with 100,793 votes, which amounted to 34.35 per cent of the vote share.

Other candidates included Muhammad Habib from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) who secured 24,150 votes, representing 8.23 per cent, and Sajid Ali, also an independent, who obtained 22,651 votes, or 7.72 per cent.

The total voter turnout was 302,792, or 50.54 per cent of the registered electorate, with 9,364 ballots rejected.

In the 2018 general elections, Chaudhary Zulfiqar Bhindar won the seat with 139,235 votes. His closest competitor was from PTI, Rana Nazeer Ahmed Khan who garnered 75,940 votes.

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The voter turnout in the 2018 general election was 249,397, representing 55.07 per cent of the electorate.

Looking further back, the 2013 general elections saw Rana Umar Nazir Khan from the PML-N winning with 97,143 votes. In the 2008 elections, Rana Nazeer Ahmed Khan of PML-N won with 60,219 votes.