Arain was disqualified for possessing two national identity cards in February 2015, and Hassan was awarded a PML-N ticket for Senate this year.
So far, no prominent figure from the PML-N has submitted their nomination papers for the constituency apart from Rana Shahidul Hassan, the younger brother of Mehmoodul Hassan; however, he is not being considered a suitable candidate.
According to PML-N insiders, the party is convincing veteran politician Javed Hashmi to contest against Qureshi; however, Hashmi wants to contest from NA-155 (previously NA-149) or NA-158 (previously NA-152).
Similarly, PPP is also having trouble finding a proper candidate for the party. Former president Asif Ali Zardari visited Multan, a few days ago, to convince former minister for religious affairs, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, to contest from NA-156, but the former minister refused.
Kazmi was the choice of the PPP for NA-156 as he had a sizeable vote bank among Urdu-speaking as well as Punjabi voters.
