Two independent members-elect of NWFP Assembly on Monday announced joining Awami National Party (ANP) raising their tally to 33 in the 96 contested constituencies of the province.
The two independents are Mian Nisar Gul, elected from PF-40 Karak and Amjad Khan Afridi from PF-37, Kohat. Both the independent MPAs-elect announced joining the ANP unconditionally to serve the province.
In the 2002 elections, Mian Nisar Gul contested the polls on the platform of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), but following PTI's boycott of the February 18 polls, he contested as independent candidate. Amjad Khan Afridi, who was an ANP activist since 1997, but when the party refused him ticket for the February 18 polls, he too contested the polls as independent candidate.
He defeated Shaukat Habib Khan, former MPA and ANP candidate from his constituency. Talking to newsmen, he said that he was not a new comer to the party and had long association with it. Both the MPAs-elect expressed confidence in the leadership of ANP.
A total of 19 independents were elected to NWFP in February 18 polls, which were likely to play a vital role in the formation of the provincial government. But, the political maturity exhibited by the leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party and ANP minimised the importance of independent MPAS-elect.
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