LAHORE: PTI central leader Jehangir Khan Tareen has said the party will have to work hard in senate polls if polling is held through secret ballot.
Talking to The News, the PTI leader ruled out his role in any ‘revolt’ in the camps of the Opposition, whose some MPAs recently met Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. PPP MPA from Rahim Yar Khan Rais Nabeel has met the CM and reposed confidence in his leadership. Rais Nabeel hails from Rahim Yar Khan district and considered an MPA representing the lobby of Makhdum Ahmed Mehmood.
Similarly, an MPA of PML-N from Bahawalpur called on CM Buzdar. The MPA has been elected from the provincial seat that falls under the NA seat of Federal Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema. Tariq Bashir Cheema hails from PML-Q which has also announced fielding Kamil Ali Agha from Punjab in the upcoming Senate elections.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar is facing a ‘revolt’ of around a two dozen MPAs of PTI for multiple reasons.
Khawaja Daud Sulemani, a PTI MPA from DG Khan, the district of Usman Buzdar, has hurled serious allegations against the CM and announced coming up with a candidate of his own choice in Senate. PML-Q, the main ally of PTI in Punjab, is also taking full advantage of the situation and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has recently held a meeting with Khawaja Daud.
While responding to his complaints against the CM, Pervaiz Elahi had stated that other friends had also taken up such issues.
Under the prevailing circumstances, Raja Riaz Ahmed, the sitting PTI MNA from Faisalabad, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan has recommended the name of Jehangir Tareen and suggested he must be made the head of the committee that could deal with the affairs related to the Senate polls. Raja Riaz has advised the PM to make use of the experience of Jehangir Tareen in the Senate elections.
When asked whether he would chair any such committee if offered by the party as suggested by MNA Raja Riaz, Jehangir Tareen told The News that 'time will tell'.
He said Raja Riaz is a wise politician and as far as any decision regarding any such committee was concerned let us see what could be done.
Jehangir Tareen also stated that the MPAs of Opposition who had called on CM Buzdar might have some local issues and stated he had no role in it. Regarding the success of his party in Senate elections, he said the party will have to work hard if the polling is done through secret balloting process. This is pertinent to mention that Jehangir Tareen was the key man in bringing the independent MPAs to the PTI fold in 2018 general elections when the party was not much ahead of the PML-N in number games.