ARAU: The presence of former Arau member of parliament Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who is contesting under the Perikatan Nasional ticket, has caught the interest of many at the Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin nomination centre here.
Shahidan was with five other PN candidates vying for the state seats of Pauh, Suar Sanji, Tambun Tulang, Simpang Empat and Sanglang. They were at the nomination centre as early as 8.30am with 100 supporters behind them.
The Arau hot seat will see a three-cornered fight between Shahidan, Barisan Nasional's Datuk Rozabil Abd Rahman and Pakatan Harapan's Fathin Amelina Fazlie in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Shahidan, 71, held the Arau parliamentary seat for four terms, winning it in the 1986, 1990, 2013 and 2018 general elections under the BN ticket.
Shahidan will face his protege Rozabil, who was Arau Umno Youth chief and the party's Arau division vice-chief.
In GE14, Shahidan won the parliamentary seat with a 4,856-vote majority.
PH's Fathin is hoping to land a shocker by defeating Shahidan and Rozabil.
Gerakan Tanah Air's Abdul Razak Abdul Khalek, who was announced as the coaltion's candidate, did not turn up to submit his nomination paper to contest the parliamentary seat.