Pakistan has elected Mahesh Kumar Malani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from Tharparkar district of Sindh province. He has become the first Hindu to be elected to the National Assembly.
The 55 year old Malani defeated Zakaullah of the Grand Democratic Alliance in the NA-222 constituency.He secured 37,245 votes while Zakaullah received 18,323 votes, the Express Tribune reported.
Imran Khan led PTI has emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats, followed by Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N with 62 seats and PPP is on the third place with 43 seats.
When asked about a probability of an alliance with PTI, Malani said, “We [PPP] can join hands with anyone if they have any actable agenda to fight against both poverty and terrorism in the best interests of the nation.”
Malani said that he isn’t just a representative of the Hindus but a representative of the people of Pakistan.“I am not only the representative of the Hindu or the minority,” he said. “In a general election the Muslim majority also votes for me, so I am going to perform my duty for all my people and for my nation. My agenda is to stand up for the rights of every citizen of Pakistan.” reported The Independent.
Malani was a member of parliament from 2003-08 on a reserved seat, nominated by the PPP.
In 2013 general elections, Malani was elected as Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Sindh.
This is how ladies in Thar celebrate victory of first elected MNA from minority @MaheshMalaniPPP @BakhtawarBZ @BBhuttoZardari @ShahNafisa @HamidMirPAK @SyedaShehlaRaza @KishooLal @malani_sushil @ajmaljami @GeoASKKS pic.twitter.com/Ct24gduJDT
— Dil acharya 🦚 (@AcharyaDil) July 27, 2018