Maulana Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, son of Sunni militant group Sipah-e-Sahaba's slain founder Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, won the Punjab Assembly's PP-78 by-election yesterday in Jhang district of the province.
ASWJ chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi campaigned door-to-door for independent candidate Jhangvi, who secured 48,562 votes defeating his closest rival Azad Nasir Ansari of the ruling PML-N with more than 12,000 votes.
ASWJ was formed after the government slapped a ban on Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
The SSP,spearheaded the anti-Shia drive in late 1980s and led to sectarian violence in the country that is still going on. The elder Jhangvi was killed in sectarian violence.
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Jhangvi's victory has shown that ASWJ has strong voter-base in Jhang, some 200 km from Lahore.
The seat was vacated by PML-N Rashida Yaqoob, who was disqualified by Election Commission for concealing her assets.
Commenting on the outcome of the by-election, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on twitter: "Rest in pieces National action plan" with hashtag #GoNisarGo.
Earlier, the PML-N had election alliance with ASWJ.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah is accused of harbouring the ASWJ activists.