LAHORE: The number of disgruntled MPAs’ within the ranks of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Punjab seems to be building up and may hit the ruling party in the upcoming Senate elections.

While Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is holding meetings with different PML-N MPAs to muster up support for the Senate election, new alignments within the PTI parliamentarians are emerging to pressurise the government for allocation of development works for their respective constituencies and due share in power.

A group comprising some two dozen MPAs, apparently annoyed over Mr Buzdar’s “inability” to stem corruption and for being ignored in allocation of development projects, has surfaced yet again to show their strength and exercise influence.

The MPAs group had first emerged under Ghazanfar Abbas Chheena over a year ago, but was eventually snubbed by none other than Prime Minister Imran Khan in a meeting with them at the Chief Minister Secretariat.

After the PM’s snub, the group remained low profile, but now it had re-emerged and was openly chiding the chief minister over his “shortcomings”.

“Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is incapable of running the country’s largest province. Under him the levels of corruption and lawlessness increased, while the quality of development works and life of the people got poorer whic was a proof of his inability to perform,” said an MPA from Taunsa Sharif, Khwaja Daud Sulemani, while speaking to Dawn on Wednesday.

Mr Sulemani claimed that a large number of the ruling party MPAs were disturbed over Mr Buzdar’s inability to deliver and take all the party MPAs along, adding that their resentment had now reached the boiling point.

Ruling out the efficacy of any step by Mr Buzdar to redress the grievances of the annoyed MPAs, Mr Sulemani said that now only the party chairman Prime Minister Imran Khan could allay their reservations, adding that until then his group would continue protesting and asserting its role in the government.

Over a year ago, one of the leading member of the group Sardar Shahabuddin had come on record saying that they had faced ‘ruthless’ discrimination under the Shahbaz Sharif government during the past decade, but the situation seemed no different in the Buzdar government as their respective constituencies were still being ignored in terms of development funds and projects.

Mr Sulemani said the group had now decided that it would demand a PTI ticket for Senate for one of its member, otherwise it would either resign en bloc ahead of the upper house election or simply stay away from the voting process.

Mr Sulemani, who has returned to the provincial assembly for the third time, denied that he or any other group member was in contact with the PML-N to dent the PTI position in the Senate election. “We won’t go to vote for anyone in the Senate election if our demands are not met,” he warned, but did not comment when told that their non-participation in the voting process would be tantamount to the PML-N’s support in the Senate poll.

“The government should have given a sympathetic hearing to the reservations of his group’s MPAs and allayed these instead of bulldozing them through bashing by Buzdar’s benefactors,” Mr Sulemani said.

As the MPA from Taunsa alleged corruption in the development works in his constituency, PTI MPAs Hanif Pitafi and Ali Ahmad Khan Dareshak came up to defend the chief minister and demanded disciplinary action against Mr Sulemani.

Pitafi, an adviser to the chief minister, in a video message stated the Punjab government had given Rs3.5 billion development package for Mr Sulemani’s constituency, besides massive development works across south Punjab. “There may be some difference of opinion within the party, but there should not be any blaming and shaming of the chief minister,” Mr Pitafi said.

Alleging that there were some “hidden hands” behind the launch of Mr Sulemani ahead of Senate election, PTI MPA Ahmad Ali Khan Dareshak said the “conspiracy” would soon be exposed with proofs.

He said Mr Sulemani was himself unable to serve the voters, who were annoyed by his poor performance in his constituency.

Seeking disciplinary action, Mr Pitafi went on to say that Sulemani should be de-seated and by-elections be held in the constituency.

Mr Sulemani, responded that he knew well that abuses would soon be hurled at him and that could even follow FIRs and other drastic actions by Buzdar’s benefactors.

PML-N MPAs: Meanwhile, CM Buzdar met PML-N MPAs Muhammad Arshad and Nishat Ahmad Daha during the past two days and assured them that their constituencies’ problems would be sorted out soon.

“I treat problems of the public representatives as my own and my doors are open to all. I am always available for public service and the parliamentarians’ constituency-related problems will be solved on a priority basis,” Mr Buzdar assured the PML-N MPAs.

The PTI is flashing Buzdar’s meeting with the PML-N MPAs as a success with regard to the upcoming Senate election.

Both the PML-N MPAs lauded the chief minister for giving them respect and assuring them of resolution of the problems related to their respective constituencies.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2021