Pir defeats Tareen in Lodhran by-election: PML-N gets timely boost ahead of general elections

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday won the by-polls for the constituency of NA-154 Lodhran, according to unofficial results from all 338 polling stations. PML-N's Iqbal Shah managed to obtain 113,542 votes, while his rival, PTI's Ali Tareen, who was contesting his first election on a seat that fell vacant following his father's disqualification, begged 85,933 votes.
PML-N won by a margin of 27,609 votes, according to provisional results. Considered the home ground of Tareen, PTI had won the seat with a margin of around 40,000 votes in the 2015 by-election. Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif congratulated the party on its victory in the constituency. The chief minister said that politics of sit-ins has been defeated.
The daughter of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, posted on social media that if people's decision, when disrespected, becomes even stronger. "If their prime minister is removed, they too take notice," said Maryam on Twitter. Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that people have shown that they support politics of development and a rising Pakistan. Mushahid Hussain, who recently joined PML-N, said the tide has turned.
A large number of PML-N supporters celebrated their candidate's victory. The government had deployed 4,000 security personnel. PTI fielded Jahangir's son Ali Tareen, the PML-N Iqbal Shah and PPP Mirza Mohammad Ali Baig. Seven other candidates were also contesting the by-election. The district monitoring officer imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 and Rs 30,000 on Ali Tareen and Iqbal Shah respectively for violating the by-election's code of conduct.