ZEN Ghani has been an SNP councillor for Pollokshields since 2022, and is the youngest councillor in Glasgow, having been elected at the age of 20.
Now 23, he has his eyes set on Holyrood and blocking the Scottish Labour leader's attempt to become Scotland’s next first minister.
“From the people that I've spoken to, they just feel like he's using the seat to enhance his own career. He feels like he can walk into power using this seat,” Ghani told The National.
“I want to be someone that champions the communities and not focus on my own career like he's doing.”
Both Sarwar and Ghani are looking to represent constituents in Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok.
Ghani has been nominated by his branch and is set to go against SNP members Scott MacFarlane and Jen Layden in an internal selection contest.
Sarwar, meanwhile, was confirmed as the Scottish Labour candidate last December.
Ghani has lived in the southside of Glasgow all his life, and argues he understands the communities in a way Sarwar does not.
He shares that he has not had a privileged upbringing, like the Scottish Labour leader.
Sarwar attended private school Hutchesons’ Grammar and previously enjoyed a minority shareholding in a business started by his father and run by his other brother Asim – United Wholesale Scotland. He previously held shares said to be worth £4.8 million before relinquishing his stake in 2017, putting it into a trust for his three children.
“I didn't enter politics from privilege,” Ghani shared.
“I grew up in care, so a lot of the stuff that families are going through right now about cost of living and, struggling to make ends meet - that resonates a lot with me.”
Ghani first got involved with the SNP through his local branch at 15 after making the ties with people’s everyday struggles and the more fair and prosperous country an independent, self-governing Scotland could be.
He went on to work for his local MSP and former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, and is a graduate of the University of Glasgow, where he studied politics and history, before becoming a local councillor, and the assistant national secretary of SNP.
In 2022, the SNP only gained one seat in Glasgow and it was the seat Ghani gained.
“I've lived in the southside of Glasgow all my life and I understand the communities that he'll target, and not having a golden spoon in your mouth like Anas Sarwar has, makes it much more understandable,” Ghani said.
“I mean, he's been a millionaire all his life. I've had to fight for everything in my life, and that's the kind of determination that keeps me going.
He added: “Being able to relate to people going through similar experiences, that is what makes you want to make that change in Scotland.”
Ghani stressed the 2026 election isn't just about one seat, but about putting independence back at the heart of the SNP nationally and rebuilding trust with voters.
Speaking of the constituency he hopes to represent, he said: “People are being impacted by the cost of living crisis, areas within the seat are quite deprived.
“Energy bills are having an impact on them as well, in particular on things like local community facilities - that's something that I've championed in my own ward, and I'll continue to champion them.
“We've seen the damage that both Tory and Labour governments continue to do, and Sarwar is not going stand up to them at all.
“You've seen just in the last day or so, him talking about making Scotland greater again, along Trump's lines, and he's just completely out of touch with the struggles that people are going through. The SNP really resonates with people and we will all put up a very strong fight.
"I'm absolutely determined to do that."
