GUJRAT: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has started to reorganise its district chapters in central Punjab after leaving party offices at district level vacant since 2015.

The party reappointed its former Gujrat president Chaudhry Ilyas on the same position whereas the post of general secretary was given to Chaudhry Saleem Sarwar Jaura.

PTI Central Punjab President Abdul Aleem Khan issued a notification of appointment of key party offices in Gujrat, while the remaining slots of the district chapter would be announced after the district president and general secretary prepare proposals for them in consultation with local party workers.

Although local party workers called it a timely move just a year ahead of the next general elections, they were concerned over grouping among local rank and file, which they claimed had already caused “great damage” to the party. They urged the new officials to steer the party out of this crisis. The party leadership also nominated a young leader, Usman Manzoor Dhudra, a scion of former PPP MNA Manzoor Dhudra, as member of the central executive committee.

Both Ilyas and Jaura were runners-up in their respective constituencies of NA-107 and PP-111 in the last general elections and according to insiders, the party opted for them keeping in view their political weight locally.

A local party worker said that due to the absence of an organisational structure, the party could not perform well in the local body elections in October 2015. He said that division among the local cadre also resulted in the loss of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s constituency of LA-34 Gujrat-Mandi Bahauddin where the party candidate stood at third place. According to another worker, the main challenge for the new team will be uniting the party cadre who were in utter disarray in the district.

Talking to Dawn, Chaudhry Ilyas said that he was aware of the challenge of uniting the party cadre, and the top priority of his team would be to resolve internal differences, and prepare for the next general elections.

He said that he would soon convene a meeting of all party workers regardless of their groups where consultations would be held to fill party offices at the district level. Officials at the town level would be selected by the district team. However, no time frame was announced to fulfil the task.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017