GUJAR KHAN: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would give a “big surprise” in Punjab in the upcoming general elections.

“The PPP would be in a better position to establish government in the centre,” he said while addressing a press conference in Sagri village of Gujar Khan.

He was accompanied by PML-N aspirant for the PP-9 ticket, ex-chairman of Lodhran Union Council Mohammad Naveed Bhatti, who had announced that he would unconditionally support Mr Ashraf. The PML-N had denied a ticket to Mr Bhatti.

Mr Ashraf said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was himself leading the party’s campaign in Punjab and contesting from NA-127 in Lahore, adding that the party would perform better than the past elections.

He said the welcome reception thrown by Lahore during Bilawal’s rally was testimony that people believed in the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

The NA speaker said the decision of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to contest polls from Lahore was aimed at strengthening the federation.

Commenting on a question regarding the aspiration of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to see his son as the country’s prime minister, Mr Ashraf said people were misled about the former president, adding that he was a great patriot and far-sighted politician.

“God willing, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would be the country’s next premier,” he said. Responding to the query about the salvo of criticism launched by Bilawal against PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, and the chances of an alliance between the two parties after elections, the NA speaker said every political party contested elections independently and struggled to achieve a golden number to establish government.

He said alliances were forged when a single party failed to obtain a sufficient majority to form a government, adding that there was no such rivalry that the parties could not sit together for a national cause.

Talking about the performance of the PPP when it was in government in 2008, the former prime minister said the party consisted of seasoned and experienced politicians, and had carried out several mega projects in the past, taking into account the needs of the country.

He said the PPP government doubled salaries and pensions to increase the purchasing power of the salaried class amid rising inflation, adding that it launched the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to support the downtrodden segment of the society and supported farmers with subsidies.

Talking about the party’s election campaign in Potohar region, he said the PPP had fielded strong candidates in the region, including Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum.

He said PPP candidates, including Sardar Saleem Khan in Attock, Sardar Zulfiqar Dullah in Chakwal, Raja Khurram Pervez and Chaudhry Sarfraz Khan in Gujar Khan and Nazar Gondal in Pind Dadan Khan, were outperforming candidates of other political parties in their respective areas.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2024