PML-N leadership “sacrifices” two more ministers to step up the party’s campaign for by-elections on July 17, after complaining about the “weak” attitude of some candidates. did.
Malik Ahmad Khan and the state’s Minister of Justice and Finance, Sardar Awais Regari, submitted their resignation to the Punjab Prime Minister on Tuesday for “personal reasons.” PML-N claimed that the two ministers had resigned because they had to support party-supporting candidates in the post-election campaign..
Federal Minister of Economy Saldar Ayaz Sadik and Punjab Minister Salman Raffiq resigned the day before Eid Aza to lead the party’s campaign at PA-158 in Lahore..
After losing three Punjabi ministers, including two from its affiliate Pakistan Peoples Party, Hamza’s cabinet has shrunk to five members. The PPP, which had promised support for the PML-N, did not do so, despite the fact that its two ministers, Hasan Murtaza and Ali Haider Gilani, respectively, represented Jhang and Multan, where three of the 20 seats in the Punjab Assembly (PP-125, PP-127, and PP-217) would be up for by-election on Sunday.
PML-N believes that former Finance Minister Leghari can be very successful in the campaign in Delagajikhan, where the PP-288 by-elections will take place. However, there is growing concern about the resignation of Malik Ahmad Khan, a resident of the Casull region.
The PML-N is backing 20 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) dissidents who voted for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza in the April chief minister poll. The Election Commission had removed them from office as a result of their defection. The leadership’s choice to provide tickets to “turncoats” in these 20 constituencies has infuriated the majority of PML-N ticket holders and loyal workers, hurting the status of such candidates.
According to a party insider, the Sharifs awoke to’reports by party men’ that the position of their party-backed candidates in some constituencies was ‘weak’ due to a kind of’revolt within the local party cadre against them,’ and that immediate assistance should be sent to them in the form of trusted lieutenants who could manage to help the candidates. “These ex-ministers will not only ensure support for the party’s ‘weak candidates’ by luring angry workers, but they will also lead their campaigns,”
These elections will not only determine who rules Punjab for the next year or so – Hamza Shehbaz or Chaudhry Parvez Elahi (PTI-PMLQ joint candidate for top provincial position), but also the outcome of the next general election.
The Supreme Court has already announced that the Punjab chief minister will be re-elected on July 22. The PML-N-led coalition needs at least nine more seats in the assembly to achieve the 186-member majority required for Mr Hamza to remain CM, whereas Mr Elahi needs 13 more seats to add to his tally of 173 in the house in order to depose the junior Sharif.
The PML-N claims that it will win the most seats in the by-elections, with Punjab as its stronghold, but the resignations of four ministers just days before the election show that the ruling party is not confident in the face of the challenge posed by Imran Khan’s PTI in these constituencies. Mr Khan and PML-Q leader Parvez Elahi claim their coalition will win all 20 seats and accuse the ruling coalition of rigging the election. Even though PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz is actively supporting the party’s candidates, a PML- leader felt that other trustworthy figures than Maryam were needed to allay the worries of the party’s workers in these districts.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
