LAHORE: The award of tickets has become a thorny issue in the PML-N camp, with former Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz reportedly asking his uncle, Nawaz Sharif, not to ignore party loyalists in the distribution of tickets for general and reserved seats.

The PML-N leadership’s decision to nominate women, either from influential families or the upper echelons of society, for reserved seats has already sparked discontent among women workers, who are questioning the criteria of the selection process.

“Now, Hamza Shehbaz has joined [this chorus] and requested the party supremo to give importance to loyal workers,” a party insider told Dawn on Tuesday. The source said the party’s old guard was worried over the preference being shown for new faces.

It may be noted that Hamza, who is the son of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, has kept a low profile since he lost the chief minister’s office to Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in July last year.

Ex-Punjab CM asks uncle Nawaz not to ignore ‘party loyalists’ while doling out tickets for general, reserved seats

He does not seem to have ‘much say’ in party matters of late, especially after the return of Nawaz Sharif from self-imposed exile in October this year. An insider claimed that the Maryam Nawaz camp has emerged stronger following her father’s return, and now has a major say in the party’s affairs, particularly the awarding of tickets.

In addition, Hamza Shehbaz is reportedly unhappy with the party’s decision to drop some women workers from the party’s list for reserved seats. “Some members of his group in the party fear that they may not be considered for constituencies of their choice in Feb 8 polls,” the source said.

The differences bet­ween the Hamza and Maryam camps have been reported by the media in the past, but speculations became amplified after her husband, Muhammad Safdar, declared that Maryam would be the party’s candidate for the office of Punjab chief minister.

There were also claims that Hamza Shehbaz has been sidelined and the elder Sharif and her daughter’s decisions prevail, however, Dawn could not independently verify these accounts.

On Tuesday, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb dismissed “news related to Hamza Shehbaz” that had been circulating on social and mainstream media. While she did not specify what claim she was denying, a tweet from her X account said: “Some elements are spreading speculation intentionally, which shows their desperation”.

In response to a question about Hamza Shehbaz, PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry said, “Hamza Shehbaz is representing the party. In our party, there are 15 candidates for one seat, which means the chances of getting a ticket are not high.” He added that Nawaz Sharif always took care of the party’s loyal workers.

Parliamentary board meeting

Separately, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, said Nawaz Sharif was the only leader who had rescued the country from crisis.

He said the country was suffering from unbearably long hours of electricity load-shedding, but Nawaz Sharif added almost 15,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. The PML-N president lashed out at those who promised over 300 hydel dams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “They fooled the nation with their hollow claims because they could not even build a single one of those dams.”

He said there was a lot of enthusiasm in the party after the return of Nawaz from exile.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023