January 01, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 10, 1427

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LAHORE, Dec 31: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi claims that the ruling PML faces absolutely no challenge from the opposition parties in Punjab in the next elections as the PPP and the PML-N are ‘leaderless’ and the Jamaat-i-Islami, the only MMA component which has its presence in the province, cannot win a single seat without cooperation from other parties.

Talking to Dawn at his residence on Sunday, he said the performance of his government in all sectors in general and education and health in particular was so enviable that voters would support the PML and reject all its rivals. He said the reforms carried out by President Musharraf had added to the popular support of the ruling party after which a crushing defeat awaited the adversaries.

The chief minister, who is also the provincial president of his party, said the PML was preparing itself for the next elections believing that the present assemblies would complete their term in November 2007 and the polls would be held in the subsequent three months. He did not see any possibility of the elections being held before time.

Pervaiz Elahi will contest on a provincial seat, but a decision on whether from Gujrat or Rahim Yar Khan will be taken at an appropriate time.

Asked whether all sitting MNAs and MPAs would be retained candidates for the next elections, the chief minister said the performance of every legislator was evaluated periodically and a final decision on whether they should be given another chance or replaced by better alternatives would be taken at the time of elections.

He said the local elections held last year had established that the PML was the most popular party in Punjab and others had no following whatsoever. He said the outcome of the general elections would not be any different.

He said the PPP of Ms Benazir Bhutto stood no chance in Punjab inter alia because it was opposed to Kalabagh dam, a project he said was indispensable to meet the future water and power requirements of the country. People of Punjab, he said, knew the importance of the project but the PPP was opposing it for political reasons.

The chief minister said Punjab was willing to sacrifice its share of water in case other provinces stopped opposing the project which had been shelved for the past several decades.

Pervaiz Elahi said Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could not come back to Pakistan, notwithstanding their rhetoric to the contrary, because of which they would lose a bit of support they had at the moment. “Lands whose owners are absent hardly yield any produce”, he said in an obvious reference to the impact of the absence of the former prime ministers for the past several years.

The chief minister said the PML and the PPP were ideological rivals and Mr Sharif had lost his identity after merging his party with the PPP. Now, he said, Ms Bhutto was the leader of the PPP as well as Mr Sharif.

He said people would certainly not like to stand by the so-called leaders who had preferred to stay in their palaces in other countries rather than with their followers.

He opposed the demand that the district governments should be suspended for three months at the time of the general elections. He said the elections would be held under the supervision of an impartial interim government, whose constituents would not be eligible to take part in the polls. Thus, he argued, nobody should have any doubts about the fairness and transparency of the elections nor should anyone seek the suspension of the district governments.

Questioned about the impact of the MQM’s presence in Punjab on the electoral performance of the PML, he said his party would contest in cooperation with its allies. He said while all parties were free to take part in the elections and put up candidates on as many seats as they liked, it did not mean that they would win.

He said the manifesto for the next elections was being prepared by a senior party leader.