GUJRAT: The ruling PML-N has announced what appears to be election-oriented uplift schemes in Gujrat’s PP-110 Kunjah-Mungowal, the constituency of Chaudhry Moonis Elahi. A development package worth Rs360 million has been announced for the constituency months ahead of the general elections.

Although the funds would be provided by the federal government, execution will be managed by the Punjab government departments.

Senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed announced the development package for PP-110 – a constituency that has been a stronghold of the Chaudhrys of PML-Q since 1985.

He made the announcement at a high-level meeting held in the district administration complex attended by PML-N lawmakers from the district as well as senior officials of all provincial government departments, including deputy commissioner and district police officer.

The funds would be spent on schemes proposed either by the elected chairmen or runners-up from the PML-N in all union councils of PP-110. These schemes are proposed to be completed within six months. Every union council of the constituency will receive Rs20 million in addition to the already announced package of Rs2.5 million each by the local government department.

A senior official told Dawn that these funds were actually meant for uplift projects in NA-105, but since the constituency had been last won by senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the government had decided to spend the funds through its own candidate for the general elections in the constituency.

The funds had been released in the last fiscal year but could not be spent due to confusion within the party over choosing a candidate in NA-105 and PP-110 as the party did not want to again field former MNA Chaudhry Mubashir Hussain, the runner-up against Elahi in the constituency in the 2013 polls.

Now, he added, the PML-N had decided to launch Ahmed Saeed as its candidate in NA-105 as well as PP-110 due to which he was sent by the chief minister to announce the uplift package.

A PML-N lawmaker told Dawn that since Mr Saeed had not been keeping well, he might not contest the elections himself. In that case, Hassan Javed, the nephew of Ahmed Saeed as well as of PPP’s former federal minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, could be a joint candidate of the “Servis group” in the National Assembly constituency on a PML-N ticket.

And on the provincial assembly seat, the official said, the party might field Safdar Mumtaz Sandhu and ignore its previous candidate in the constituency, Raza Ali Warraich.

Interestingly, both Sandhu and Warraich had been at loggerheads for long so PML-N could face issues. However, Ahmed Saeed is said to be in favour of pitching Safdar Sandhu in PP-110 and had also asked the local authorities to accommodate the schemes proposed by Sandhu.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2017