The golden platter: Punjab assembly elections
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The election for the most sought-after post of the Chief Minister of Punjab will be held on Saturday. It will not be an easy contest. Two parties from Pakistan’s most influential families are vying for the position, considered one of the most important in Pakistan because of the share size of Punjab as Pakistan’s largest province in terms of population. Because both families have a history of political animosity, the contest will be eventful. If past events are of any reference, then speculating about some ugly happenings on the day of the election may not be hyperbolic. Both families have put everything at stake to win this challenge.
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is the speaker of the Punjab Assembly. He had also held this post during General Pervez Musharraf’s government from 2002 to 2007. It would not be wrong to say that throughout the former Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s rule, Elahi had acted as the de facto chief minister of Punjab.
On the other hand, opposition parties, including the dissident member from the PTI’s Tareen and Aleem group, have nominated Hamza Shahbaz Sharif for the chief minister post. He has been the leader of the opposition in the house. After Imran Khan's ouster and Shahbaz Sharif's appointment as the prime minister of Pakistan, the prospect of his son Hamza Shahbaz becoming the chief minister of Punjab has become brighter.
Punjab Assembly elections are essential for the PTI. Pervaiz Elahi’s defeat in Punjab could exacerbate problems for Imran Khan politically. Imran’s entire struggle was against the PML-N’s corruption, and if the party comes into power both in the centre and in Punjab, it will be a huge blow to the narrative that Imran has been building. However, one face-saving narrative can actually go against the PML-N and can strengthen Imran’s case: the continuity of dynastic politics.
If sanity prevails, chances are that the PTI will retain Punjab. This might as well assuage the anger among PTI followers on the premature and unceremonious ouster of their leader.
Durdana Najam
Earlier, two brothers held key posts, and now it would be the father and the son making the hay. If sanity prevails, chances are that the PTI will retain Punjab. This might as well assuage the anger among PTI followers on the premature and unceremonious ouster of their leader.
Elahi will try his best to win this contest. However, Hamza challenging him brings back unpleasant memories of the 1997 elections when Mian Nawaz Sharif, the then Party President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, had promised Elahi the chief ministership of Punjab but at the last moment gave the golden platter to his brother Shahbaz.
Asif Ali Zardari has almost been successful in clearing the air between the Sharif and Elahi families, but then Khan playing his trump card, asked Buzdar to resign and nominated Pervaiz Elahi for the post of chief minister in Punjab.
The first session of the Punjab Assembly for the election of the chief minister was called on April 3. However, it was adjourned due to brawls between the member of the ruling and opposition parties. Later, the session was called on April 6. This session too was suspended till April 16 by the deputy speaker Punjab Assembly Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, and subsequently, all doors leading to the Assembly were closed as safety measures. In the meantime, PML-N “elected” Hamza as the chief minister of Punjab in a local hotel on April 6. Though PML-N claimed it to be constitutionally correct posturing, neither its legality was challenged in court nor taken seriously by any political quarter.
Another twist in the story was the no-trust motion moved against the deputy speaker of Punjab by none other than the PTI. They went against their stalwart because of his alleged sensitivities towards the PML-N.
Elahi has also filed an application against the conduct of the deputy speaker in the Lahore High Court, saying that he had lost the house's trust; therefore, elections held under his authority could become questionable.
Punjab’s chief ministership has been in the cross-hairs ever since the PTI came to power. The appointment of Usman Buzdar, a pliant personality, as the chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province was taken as a massive mistake by the PTI and indicated the party’s non-seriousness to manage the country's affairs. Notwithstanding governance issues, the choice of Usman Buzdar was one of the most significant reasons behind the ouster of Imran Khan and his government.
However, if Hamza wins, it can give PTI a new fuel to energize its followers against dynastic politics.
- Durdana Najam is an oped writer based in Lahore. She writes on security and policy issues.
Twitter: @durdananajam