A remarkable victory has been achieved for the most coveted slot of the chairman of the most prestigious club of the country, as Salman Siddique has become the chairman of Lahore Gymkhana.
In a close contest fought between the two rival groups, the businessmen and bureaucrat panel finally won after securing eight out of 12 seats. The names of the winning candidates are as follows: Misbahur Rehman, Salman Siddiq, Kamran Lashari, Ziaur Rehman, Pervaiz Bhandara, Samera Maroof, Shaukat Javed, Shafqat Rana, Pervaiz Bashir Agha, Justice (r) Sipra and Samiur Rehman.
The results came as a surprise for many as the businessmen panel had joined hands with the bureaucrats for the first time in order to beat the incumbent panel led by Ziaur Rehman. Previously, sleeves were rolled up for the campaign and the atmosphere was electrified further as canvassing reached its peak in the elections for the coveted slot of the Lahore Gymkhana Club chairman.
A total of 4,800 members had been registered at the club and would elect a 12-member committee of management. Per the past trend, only 50 percent of the registered members cast their votes to elect the 12 members who further elected a chairman from amongst themselves after the elections had ended.
Historically, two groups have struggled to dominate the political scene of the prestigious club. One group had traditionally included landlords, politicians and businessmen, while the other had been dominated by civil servants. The former was formed by Nawab Qazalbash who remained the chairman in the 50s and 60s followed by Sardar Ahmad Ali who remained chairman for three years. Moreover, since 1980 up till 2011, only two non-government servants have remained chairmen, former governor Khawaja Tariq Raheem and renowned businessman Misbaurrehman, who lost the last elections to Ziaur Rehman.
