PML-N showing no interest in Lodhran by-election

ISLAMABAD: The by-election to NA-154 Lodhran to be held on Monday witnessed a lacklustre campaign as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) showed little interest in canvassing, which was contrary to the similar process back in 2015.

Last time, it was a sort of national election campaign due to the importance of the by-poll particularly the participation of the most senior confidant of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Jehangir Tareen.

No top leader of the PML-N visited the constituency to campaign for its candidate. One reason for lack of interest was that the victory or defeat was to last for the remaining short life, three and a half months, of the National Assembly. For this precise reason, it apparently desisted from pumping in its resources and sources in the constituency to win.

Punjab Chief Minister’s son Humza, who always played a key role in the campaign for all by-elections in Punjab in more than four years and won, was also not seen contributing in Lodhran.

However, Tareen’s son, Ali, put up an energetic, whole-hearted campaign so that the seat is not taken away by his rival even for a short span of time. His electioneering was well-coordinated and organised.

In December 2015, senior Tareen clinched the seat in a by-poll by a margin of around 36,000 votes routing PML-N’s Siddique Baloch in a fierce fight. At the time, some top PML-N leaders had jumped in the scramble.

This was the first time that Tareen contested this Lodhran seat. Previously, he always vied for the National Assembly from Rahimyar Khan because of the support of his business partner, relative and influential figure of the area Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood. When it disappeared, he preferred to shift to Lodhran.

The seat fell vacant because of the Supreme Court-sanctioned disqualification of Tareen for not declaring his offshore company in his nomination papers. His only son, Ali, tastes the electoral politics for the first time in his life. He has been glued to the constituency after the announcement of the election schedule, holding corner meetings and persuading influential people to support him.

Among the characteristics of the by-election figure two important elements. One is the PTI’s sponsorship of Ali. The party has always severely lambasted the PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for pursuing dynastic politics. The PTI mouthpieces in the print and social media have burnt mid-night oil to justify Ali’s candidacy and tried to paint that it was not dynastic politics.

Imran Khan has been slamming Sharifs for bringing Maryam, Humza and Capt (R) Safdar in politics just because they are their scions, and Asif Zardari for making way for Bilawal to replace him. However, the PTI chief conveniently issued the party ticket to Ali for the obvious objectives that he wants to keep Tareen with him come what may, for reasons known to all and sundry. There was some meek, inconsequential grumbling within the PTI over the grant of ticket to Ali but it was aggressively brushed off.

The second highlight of the PTI’s jump in the clash is that the party and Tareens do not want to be away from the “cursed” National Assembly even for a brief period. The PTI has consistently “cursed” the present lower house. The latest “curse” Imran Khan showered on it was at the flopped public meeting on The Mall, Lahore, hosted by Allama Tahirul Qadri and supported by all the opposition parties.

It has been proved that publicly cursing the National Assembly was just a political slogan to demean the lower house controlled by the PML-N, and the PTI wishes to be part of the condemned chamber all the time like other parties.

Ali’s fight is also a local compulsion because once one party doesn’t sponsor a candidate in a constituency, voters conclude that it is no more interested in the area and therefore, they switch to other contestants. Such outcome will obviously field out the party not taking part in the exercise.

Another high point of the poll campaign was the issuance of a notice to Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Murad Saeed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for violation of its code of conduct. Shortly before they addressed a public meeting three days back, the ECP got wind of it and made it public that they can’t do so owing the prohibition by the code. However, they went ahead with their planned address to the rally.