MUZAFFARGARH: Fissures have emerged in the local PML-N chapter after PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah and Secretary General Awais Ahmad Leghari have welcomed former municipal committee chairman Akram Chandia and his brother Ajmal Chandia to the party.

Ajmal Chandia was a candidate for PP-270 as a candidate of Jamshed Dasti’s party in the 2018 elections and stood as the runner-up behind Abdul Hayee Dasti.

The inclusion of the Chandia brothers in the party, along with the promise made to them for the PML-N ticket in the upcoming elections, has infuriated former PML-N MPA Hamad Nawaz Tipu.

He has announced his candidacy for both the MPA seat and National Assembly seats, expressing confidence that he will convince the senior leadership that he is the right candidate for both positions.

Mr Tipu, also the divisional general secretary of the PML-N, says that he will meet with the senior leadership and inform them about the decision regarding PP-270 tickets. In the last general elections, Mr Tipu contested both provincial and national assembly seats – MPA-270 and NA-182 - securing the third position in both.

In the National Assembly seat, he lost to PPP’s Mehr Irshad Sial, who received 53,054 votes, with the runner-up being Jamshed Dasti securing 50,566 votes. Mr Tipu stood third with 47,642 votes. The MPA election also witnessed a close contest where winner Abdul Hayee Dasti received 17,686 votes, followed by Ajmal Chandia with 17,669 votes and Mr Tipu with 16,358 votes.

As the race for the ticket continues, both sides have started their electioneering as PML-N candidates. The Chandia brothers claim that their acceptance into the party fold speaks volumes for their chances to get the ticket.

While Mr Tipu and the Chandia brothers are in contention for the PML-N ticket, former MPA Chunnu Laghari has also announced joining the PML-N, and he is unlikely to face any resistance in obtaining an MPA ticket under Basit Sultan’s National Assembly constituency in Jatoi tehsil.

In a meeting with the PML-N President and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore, Mr Laghari expressed confidence in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

During the conversation on this occasion, Shahbaz Sharif stated that the PML-N will play a historic role in serving the people. He added that, with the cooperation of all, Pakistan and its people must be relieved from economic hardships.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2023