LAHORE, Dec 27: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the forthcoming general election is of vital importance as survival and solidarity of the country depend upon it.

He said he was confident that the people would bring the PML-N to power through their votes.

The chief minister was talking to assembly members of various districts here on Thursday.

He alleged that President Asif Ali Zardari and his cronies had set records of corruption and the PML-N would recover every penny of the looted money from plunderers after coming to power.

Mr Shahbaz lamented that there was neither electricity nor gas and hundreds of thousands of labourers were being rendered jobless daily.

He accused President Zardari and associates responsible for the energy crisis, adding that the unjust treatment to Punjab would no more be put up with.

The chief minister said that a deadly blow was being given to the provincial economy by suspending supply of electricity and gas to its industries.

He said the country had been stuck into a quagmire due to alleged corruption of the federal government while the PML-N would have to be brought to power in the upcoming general election to make Pakistan a self-reliant and prosper country.

He said that after Lahore, solid waste management and metro bus service projects would be started in five other major cities of the province.

He said the PML-N victory in by-polls proved its popularity among the masses and all surveys were showing a vast public support for the party.