The ECP was asked to pick Punjab’s caretaker chief minister after a deadlock between the PMLN and the PTI-PMLQ. In keeping with this constitutional role, the ECP on Sunday appointed Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as Punjab’s caretaker CM. Naqvi’s name had been proposed by the PML-N. Under Article 224-A of the constitution, if the (outgoing) government and opposition do not agree on a consensus caretaker candidate, it goes to a parliamentary committee and after that to the ECP. In this sense, everything has been done by book. This means there should have been very little room for any outcry. But since when has that stopped our political stakeholders? Despite the naive hopes that, with such little time to what should be the date for elections in Punjab, neither of the parties would drag the matter to the courts, true to fashion the PTI rejected Naqvi’s name within hours. As did the PML-Q’s Pervaiz Elahi. What they want to achieve through this is unfathomable since the constitution has given a clear procedure regarding the caretaker setup. One would think the whole point of dissolving the assembly was to ensure fresh elections. Dragging this matter further – while also adding to the now alarming proportions of judicialization of politics – makes little sense other than a wish to further political uncertainty.
The incoming caretaker setup is already inheriting months of chaos in the province: warring parties, polarized politics, and an aggressive PTI whose sole goal is to get back in power – no matter what. The main issue at the moment are the elections in Punjab. Ideally, the new caretaker setup under Mohsin Naqvi should be aiming for a successful conclusion of a free and fair election exercise. Now that the matter is being dragged to the courts, a lot of the checklist will have to wait. There is also the matter of the surging speculations – once again – about a longer caretaker setup in Punjab. All parties, including the caretaker team, should make sure they understand that any such misadventure will be unconstitutional.
For both the PTI and the PML-N, the main electoral battleground is Punjab. So far, the PTI’s strategy has only been to cash in on its popularity wave and an aggressive approach against the PDM government and the former establishment. The PML-N’s strategy on the other hand has largely been to be as Missing in Action as possible. That may be about to change with reports that Mian Nawaz Sharif has decided to also use a similar strategy. For those who remember, in the past too – especially when the PDM was formed – Nawaz Sharif had gone all guns blazing for the judicial and military establishment of the time. If the PML-N really is serious about forming a narrative, it may want to start with a clear one regarding our dwindling economy. There has been little to no strategy on how to deal with the rising inflation, how to make a narrative about the economy, how to make a narrative about the PTI’s performance – all because the main leadership, especially Nawaz Sharif, is sitting in London. If the PML-N wants to contest elections, it should first ensure that Mian Nawaz Sharif and others are back as soon as possible. A leaderless party without a potent narrative can hardly contest elections.