Daily Times

Lahore: The delay in the award of tickets for provincial assembly seats can affect the party’s performance in the upcoming general election in its stronghold Lahore, fear Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) workers and ticket aspirants.

With barely a month left in the Election day, the largest party in the outgoing legislature has yet to finalise candidates on 19 of the 30 provincial assembly seats in Lahore.

Already, the PML-N has witnessed a huge defection from its ranks when former spokesperson Zaeem Qadri announced independent candidature on denial of party ticket for NA-133.

Similarly, Malik Hanif Awan, an applicant for PP-168 ticket, has led several protests against Khawaja Saad Rafique in front of the Model Town office of the PML-N after the latter’s name was announced as the party candidate in the constituency a few days ago.

Talking to Daily Times, several aspirants and party workers said the delay could leave candidates with too little time to build campaign momentum and mobilise support in their areas.

Rafi Siddiqui, a joint secretary of PML-N in PP-157, said that in his experience it was true that candidates don’t invest their money and time in campaigns until their tickets have been finalised. “The election campaign has many components including printing of banners, posters and panaflexes inscribed with photographs of the candidates. This is a costly exercise, and no one would want to incur expenses on all these things until they are sure about their chances,” said Rafi, who has previously participated in campaigns of former National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and has now been tasked by the party high command in the city to run the campaigns of Hamza Shehbaz (in NA-124) and Khawaja Ahmed Hassaan (in NA-130).

The 11 ticket holders for Lahore provincial seats announced so far are: Samiullah Khan (PP-144), Ghazali Saleem Butt (PP-145), Hamza Shehbaz Sharif (PP-146), Mian Mujtaba Shujja Ur Rehman (PP-147), Yasin Sohl (PP-162), Mian Naseer (PP-163), Shehbaz Sharif from PP-164 and PP-165, Khawaja Saad Rafique from PP-168, Shabbir Khokhar (PP-161) and Maryam Nawaz (PP-173).

Among PML-N bigwigs in Lahore whose fates are still hanging in the balance are four former provincial ministers – Bilal Yasin, Rana Mashood Ahmad, Khawaja Imran Nazir and Khawaja Salman Rafique – as well as former parliamentary secretary for Local Government and Community Development Ramzan Siddique Bhatti and former vice chairman of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) board Chaudhry Shahbaz.

Speaking to this scribe, Mohsin Butt, a Union Council councilor in UC-224 from NA-133, said that in his opinion the party was buying time to avoid defections like that of Zaeem Qadri, who announced his independent candidature after the party awarded NA-133 ticket to Waheed Alam Khan. “Look at the case of disgruntled Zaeem Qadri who revolted against the party when he came to know that he wasn’t getting the party ticket,” Butt said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an aspirant for the ticket of a provincial assembly seat under NA-125 (from where PML-N quaid Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz is contesting) said his campaign would get affected due to the delay in ticket announcement, since the rival PTI candidate had started the campaign in full strength. Further, he said NA ticket holders with greater say in party affairs had gotten tickets for provincial seats for their close aides to ensure that their campaigns don’t get affected. “Hamza Shahbaz and Khawaja Saad Rafique have a lot of influence in Lahore party’s affairs. They have selected their MPA candidates on their own,” he said, adding that the delay in award of tickets would affect the campaign in the remaining NA seats.a
A senior PML-N leader and former parliamentarian said that the parliamentary board would announce remaining candidates in the city after the return of the party’s president, Shehbaz Sharif, who is in Karachi for election campaign.

Published in Daily Times, June 26^th 2018.