MARAN: Barisan Nasional will enter a four-cornered contest for the parliamentary seat here.
The coalition's candidate, Datuk Seri Shahaniza Shamsuddin, is going against former Maran member of parliament Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib. Ismail is the caretaker housing and local government deputy minister.
He was dropped by BN this time around, and is now contesting on a Perikatan Nasional ticket after announcing on Friday that he had joined Pas. The other two candidates are Maran Amanah chief Ahmad Shuhor Awang (Pakatan Harapan) and Mohd Hafiz Ishak (independent).
Maran returning officer Datuk Sharuddin Jali confirmed the four candidates during an announcement at Dewan Jubli Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah here today. Ismail had held the Maran seat since 2004.
Ismail said he would not send any letter of resignation. However, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today that based on the party's constitution, the party has a right to automatically dismiss members who chose to contest under another party.