Race to the helm: PTI leaders vie for KP chief minister’s role

PESHAWAR: Following a landslide victory of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two senior party leaders and MPAs-elect, Ali Amin Gandapur and Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, have emerged as the strongest contenders for the chief minister slot of the province, insiders told The News.

“Final decision on the two candidates will be made by PTI founder Imran Khan on Sunday,” a senior PTI leader told The News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said that there were strong indications that Imran Khan would likely propose PTI provincial president Ali Amin Gandapur for the chief minister slot.

Ali Amin Gandapur, hailing from Dera Ismail Khan, has twice defeated veteran politician and religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman, head of his faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He was first elected as a member of the provincial assembly in the 2013 elections and was appointed minister of revenue.

In the 2018 election, Gandapur won a seat in the national assembly and was inducted into the federal cabinet. He was assigned the portfolio of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Like many other PTI politicians, Ali went through a difficult period and was arrested by law enforcement agencies in connection with the May 9, 2023 violent protests in the country and attacks on state installations.

Imran Khan appointed him as PTI president for KP when former party president Pervez Khattak parted ways with him following his midnight press conference in Islamabad. Khattak later formed his party, PTI-Parliamentarians, but he and other party candidates lost to the PTI contenders.

Another strong candidate for the chief minister slot is Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani.

Mushtaq Ghani, hailing from Abbottabad, is liked by his party colleagues for his soft attitude and loyalty towards Imran Khan and PTI. He served as acting governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for quite some time when Shah Farman resigned following a vote of no-confidence against Imran Khan. Shah Farman had stated on that occasion that he resigned because he would not work with the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who became PM following the ouster of Imran Khan from power.

Mushtaq Ghani was initially elected MPA from his native Abbottabad district and was appointed minister of higher education and later minister of information and public relations.

Following his victory in the 2018 elections, Mushtaq Ghani was appointed Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a job he had successfully undertaken.

The PTI has, for the first time in KP’s history, obtained a simple majority and can form a government without the support of any political party in the provincial assembly.

However, besides many other pressing challenges, it would be a difficult task for the new chief minister to satisfy all the party MPAs to stay in the party.