Abida Mia, wife to transport minister and the person tipped for the running mate post to President Joyce Banda, Sidik Mia, has withdrawn her plans to contest as a Member of Parliament for Nsanje South Constituency.

Fed up with the political roughing up of each other on the local political scene, Mia has decided to not contest and leave the scene and all its ugliness to other people.

“I do not have to be a politician to be helping people. I will continue helping people in the constituency and other areas around the lower shire but I am not contesting. I am leaving it to other people,” Mia has been quoted as saying.

Reports, however, indicate that it is the in-fighting within the party mostly stirred by Brown Mpinganjira that has forced her to withdraw.

It is alleged that Mpinganjira and Salim Bagus (another executive member of the PP) have been accusing Mia of imposing his family members on people, a development which, according to the two, has been making the party unpopular.

Such allegations, it is further said, did not go down well with Mia who has just thought of quitting that place for other people to take over and compete.

Mpinganjira has been linked to being JB’s running mate in the 2014 tripartite polls on the PP ticket.