• Stalwarts squabble over allocation of party tickets, particularly in Punjab
• Rana Sanaullah secures PA ticket for son-in-law
• Daniyal Aziz expected to get NA ticket after reconciling with Sharifs
• Competition seen between ‘favourites’ of Shehbaz, Maryam in some constituencies

LAHORE: As the nomination papers are being filed for the Feb 8 elections, the PML-N leadership is embroiled in internal disputes over the allocation of party tickets, particularly in Punjab.

However, some leaders like PML-N Punjab Presi­dent Rana Sanaullah managed to grab a party ticket for his son-in-law for the provincial assembly. Me­­an­while, Daniyal Aziz, who had previously clashed with senior party leaders, is expected to receive the National Asse­m­bly ticket for Narowal after reconciling with the Sharif brothers.

A party insider told Dawn on Thursday that in some constituencies in Punjab, there had been a competition between the “favourites” of PML-N Presi­dent Shehbaz Sharif and the party’s chief organiser, Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

For instance, in Jaranwala’s NA-76 constituency, Maryam supports Talal Chaudhry, while Shehbaz Sharif endorses Malik Naw­ab Sher Waseer, a former MNA who defected from the PTI, the party official said.

A similar situation unfolds in Gujranwala, where the She­hbaz group backs the party’s deputy secretary general Atta­ullah Tarar, and the Mar­yam group supports former MNA Mehmood Bashir Virk for being a long-standing party member.

In Lahore, the redrawing of electoral boundaries has cau­s­­ed a dilemma for the leadership, particularly affecting two party heavyweights, Ayaz Sad­iq and Sheikh Rohail Asghar.

“This is the most disturbing matter for PML-N supreme lea­der Nawaz Sharif to prefer one as both are close to him. However, the body language of Mr Sadiq these days shows that he is made to sacrifice for Mr Asghar,” the official said.

Also in Lahore, Ali Pervaiz Malik, who won the last election on the previous NA-127 constituency, has been asked to surre­nder this seat for Maryam Naw­az, though he may be ac­­com­modated in by-polls. However, his mother, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, has been given the go-ahead to contest from NA-133.

Similarly, ex-lawmaker Wa­­h­eed Alam is leaving NA-125, which he held in the last polls for Nawaz Sharif. PML-N Lah­ore President Saiful Malook Khokhar, who secured this position in the par­ty with the blessings of Mar­yam Nawaz, was seeking at least four seats — two each in National and Punjab assemblies — in the city, raising concerns within the party, the insider said.

In Bahawalpur’s NA-172 constituency, Maryam was not in favour of obliging PML-Q’s Tariq Bashir Cheema as she wanted to accommodate party loyalist Saud Majid. “Ho­­­wever, Cheema is asking the quarters concerned to ensure his seat adjustment with the PML-N as he had voted against Imran Khan,” the official said.

The party official said the Gujrat chapter of the PML-N had made it categorically clear to the leadership that if more than two seats were given to the PML-Q of Chaudhry Shujaat, the PML-N ticket aspirants there would contest independently.

Shujaat’s sons — Salik and Shafay — are keen to contest on NA and PA seats from Gujrat, respectively. A senior party leader from Punjab told Dawn that on all disputed seats, Nawaz Sharif would give a final decision acceptable to all concerned.

Daniyal ‘mends relations’

Former minister Daniyal Aziz, who recently launched a diatribe against PML-N Secre­tary General Ahsan Iqbal and Information Secretary Marri­yum Aurangzeb over inflation and poor communication strategy during the 16-month rule of the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pak­is­t­­a­­n Democratic Move­m­ent, is re­­ported to have mended his relations with the party leadership.

Mr Aziz was reportedly unhappy with the party leadership for ignoring him over the past five years and he also wanted a provincial assembly ticket for a person of his choice, while Mr Iqbal lobbied for his son in the same constituency in Narowal for the upcoming polls.

The PML-N leader said Mr Aziz has now been promised a PML-N ticket for Narowal’s previous NA-116, but no words were given to him for Awais Qasim, the person Mr Aziz was lobbying for the PA seat.

Meanwhile, Mr Iqbal was likely to secure the party ticket for that PA seat for his son, Ahmad Iqbal.

IPP ‘pain in neck’ for PML-N

The PML-N leader further said that the IPP of the sugar baron Jahangir Khan Tareen had become a “pain in the neck for the PML-N”. “The IPP is demanding a sizeable number of seats from the PML-N in Punjab, which it simply cannot give away,” he said.

“Currently, we are facing serious problems in distributing seats among our party men. How can the IPP be adjusted? However, since the IPP is wielding pressure on us through the powers that be for their so-called sacrifice in the no-confidence vote against Imran Khan, we may oblige it on a few seats,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2023