LAHORE: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari has said the PML-N’s vote bank in the recent by-election increased from 20,000 to over 100,000 in each constituency as compared to the last general polls.

The PML-N won 12 seats - six each of National Assembly and Punjab Assembly - in by-polls on 13 seats in Punjab and KP held last Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the minister said the PML-N’s victory showed that the public rejected the PTI’s politics of chaos and voted for welfare-oriented initiatives such as electric buses, free scholarships, the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme, and the Kissan Card.

Azma Bokhari said CM Maryam Nawaz had restored Punjab, previously left in disarray under the Buzdar administration to a stable and progressive path.

“Whenever good news comes for the public, it becomes a black day for the opposition. Maryam Nawaz’s transparent governance model, self-set performance indicators, and 90 ongoing development projects demonstrate that the current government focuses on tangible results, not just promises,” she said.

The minister said the public has recognised and appreciated every initiative that directly benefited citizens, including free hospitals, the Kissan Card, Himmat Card, Dhi Rani Programme, Wasa reforms, and development programmes in Lahore and Gujrat.

“Even in Haripur, despite PTI having its own government, the people did not vote for its candidate recognising that votes should be given only to those delivering tangible services.”

She said those, including KP CM Suhail Afridi, who had promoted politics of disruption and propaganda, was now facing the consequences of their actions. She noted that over 420 PTI leaders and lawyers, along with more than 190 family members, had met Imran Khan in jail, so far.

Responding to a question about Maryam Nawaz not allowing Imran Khan’s meetings in jail, Bokhari said the chief minister had no interference in jail or administrative matters, which remained fully under the authority of the prison administration.

She criticised the opposition for focusing solely on attacking the federal and Punjab governments asserting that their politics revolved around conflict and provocation, which was why the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had completely rejected them.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2025