• Despite Nawaz’s clearance from all cases, party yet to embark on campaign trail
• Leaders ‘more concerned’ with securing tickets; move to accommodate IPP leaders ‘divides’ Sharif camp

LAHORE: With less than a month to go for the general election, PML-N is yet to kick-start its campaign as it is still sorting out ticket distribution and seat adjustment with the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and PML-Q.

The party appears to be in no rush regarding the launch of its election campaign, and the confidence is apparently due to their “good equation” with the powers that be.

For now, the party’s only concern appears to be getting its candidates right for the national and provincial assemblies’ seats, especially in Punjab.

This is in stark contrast with the charged campaign by the PML-N’s erstwhile ally, the PPP, whose Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari remained in Lahore last week, openly campaigning in the city’s NA-127 constituency and calling out the Sharifs almost daily.

Unperturbed by this, the PML-N leadership, for now, is apparently co­n­tent with ‘public addresses’ in indoor party meetings and media statements.

“Either the leadership knows that the polls are not taking place on Feb 8, or it is confident that only a couple of weeks will be enough for canvassing to emerge as the majority party,” a PML-N leader from Punjab told Dawn on Monday.

He also said that party leaders were less concerned about the election campaign and more preoccupied with securing their tickets.

“The party is likely to announce tickets for the National and Punjab ass­e­mblies in a couple of days. Perhaps after that, it may think about kicking off the election campaign.”

The leader expressed hope that the party will enter the campaign mode with the launch of its manifesto on Jan 15 or 16.

Earlier, PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal had told Dawn the party would kick-start its campaign once the appeals of former premier Nawaz Sharif were decided.

However, it has been over a month since Mr Sharif’s acquittal in Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases, but the party has yet to launch a concerted push towards electioneering.

The Supreme Court’s verdict of Monday, thro­w­ing out lifetime disqualification for lawma­kers under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, has also effectively rendered the PML-N supremo free to contest the elections.

When contacted on Monday, Mr Iqbal did not comment on the delay in his party’s election campaign.

Ticket dilemma

The party’s seat adjustment with the IPP, in particular, has exacerbated its predicament regarding the distribution of tickets.

The party is “compelled” to accommodate key candidates of IPP, and ticket distribution in this way is likely to create resentment among PML-N loyalists, as well as IPP ranks, especially in Punjab.

A source in the IPP said that the party’s president, Aleem Khan, had requested the Sharifs to ask Maryam Nawaz Sharif to vacate the NA-119 seat in Lahore for him as he had already launched his campaign from there. “However, Ms Sharif told the leadership to adjust the IPP leader in NA-117, as even this would be a favour to him,” the source said.

Similarly, IPP patron-in-chief and sugar baron Jahangir Khan Tareen is keen to contest the National Assembly election from Lodhran, but the Sharifs want him to contest from Multan. Once of the reasons is that they don’t want to provoke the ire of Sadique Baloch, a strong candidate, who has threatened to contest independently if he is not awarded a ticket from Lodhran.

Separately, Awn Chaudhry, once a close confidant of PTI leader Imran Khan and now a central IPP leader, is vying for a National Assembly seat from Lahore. “He may be considered for NA-124 as he is close to Shehbaz Sharif,” sources said.

The PML-N has reportedly told the IPP that it would not accommodate PTI members who joined the party after the May 9 attacks.

“In such a scenario, IPP will get a very limited number of national and Punjab assembly seats,” said the IPP source, adding that the party had earlier sought over 100 seats from PML-N, which in turn had termed it a “non-serious demand”.

On the PML-N’s side, the powerful Khokhar group of Lahore has reportedly managed to secure at least two national and one Punjab assembly seats.

A big financier of the party, Saiful Malook Khokhar, is also a blue-eyed leader of the party’s chief organiser, Ms Sharif.

The president of PML-N’s Lahore chapter Mr Khokhar has secured National Assembly seats for himself and his brother, Afzal Khokhar.

With a Punjab Assembly seat also secured for his relative Imran Shafi Khokhar, Mr Khokhar is said to be lobbying for the accommodation of his cousin Faisal Khokhar in the PP-168 constituency.

This has resulted in disagreements among the Sharif family, with Ms Nawaz supporting Mr Faisal and her cousin, Hamza Shahbaz, putting his weight behind a party worker, Shabbir Khokhar.

“Even in a parliamentary board meeting, a question was raised whether the leadership is surrendering to the will of the wealthy Khokhars,” a party insider said.

To placate the malcontents, the party has promised candidates who might miss out on tickets that they would be accommodated in the Senate or given tickets for by-polls, the PML-N insider told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024