In Toba Tek Singh, Begum Saima Ali Raza, widow of the late provincial minister Syed Ali Raza, has been granted permission to contest in the upcoming PP-124 elections. The Lahore High Court’s three-member division bench, led by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, accepted her appeal after her nomination papers were initially rejected by the returning officer.
The saga began when Begum Saima Ali Raza, a seasoned political figure in her own right, faced a setback as her nomination papers were rejected due to alleged discrepancies regarding her farmland holdings. The objection, raised by the returning officer, cited an overstatement of her land assets in the official forms submitted for candidacy.
Undeterred by the setback, Begum Saima Ali Raza swiftly filed an appeal before the election tribunal of the Lahore High Court. Her appeal contended that the additional land she owned had not been updated in the computerized records of the revenue department. She asserted that the acquisition of the additional land occurred after the computerization of land records, thus leading to the discrepancy highlighted by the authorities.
With a legacy deeply rooted in politics, Begum Saima Ali Raza carries the mantle left by her late husband, who served as a prominent MNA and six-time MPA from 1977 to 2013. Her entry into the electoral fray not only symbolizes a continuation of the family’s political lineage but also heralds a formidable challenge to the established contenders in the constituency.
Interestingly, her candidacy sets the stage for a riveting electoral showdown, as she finds herself pitted against her step-daughter from her late husband’s first marriage, ex-MPA Sonia Ali Raza, who is now vying for the same constituency under the PTI banner.
The electoral dynamics further intensified with the presence of Pir Qutab Ali Baba, the PML-N ticket holder, adding another layer of competition to the mix. The emergence of Begum Saima Ali Raza as a viable political contender poses a substantial threat to both Ali Baba and Sonia, reshaping the political calculus of the PP-124 constituency.
