PML-N deserters weren’t diehard Leaguers

ISLAMABAD: The federal and Punjab legislators, who have left the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have interesting electoral profiles to offer.

Meanwhile, it will be stirring to note whether or not the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will field their candidates against these deserters. A general perception is that these parties will not challenge them at the hustings. Moreover, it will also not be less interesting to see whether these defectors will be able to win after choosing a new trajectory and will be in a position to overwhelm their rivals on the new slogan - a separate province in south Punjab.

In the meantime, perhaps being keen to improve his party’s position in south Punjab and in anticipation of a campaign against the PML-N on the eve of the next parliamentary polls, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif did massive budgetary allocations over the past five years more than what was due to the area considering its share in the province’s population.

Rana Qasim Noon is a good case invoking interest. He was previously associated with the PML-Q when it was in power. In 2013, he contested the general elections from NA-153 Multan on the PPP ticket and was defeated by PML-N’s Dewan Ashiq Bokhari.

Noon secured 90,179 votes as against Bokhari’s 94,413 ballots. Later, Bokhari was disqualified. The PML-N sponsored Noon in the by-election held in March 2016 in which he won by bagging 108,000 votes as against the nominees of the PPP and PTI, who secured 30,000 votes and 33,000 ballots respectively.

Another deserter, Basit Bokhari, a brother of Punjab Minister Haroon Bokhari, was elected from NA-179 Muzaffargarh by clinching 110,197 votes as the PML-N representative. In 2013, he defeated PPP candidate Moizam Ali who had got 73,199 ballots.

As an independent candidate Khusro Bakhtiar, who led the show when the dissidents announced to leave the PML-N, had faced a tough challenge from PPP’s Makhdoom Shahabuddin in 2013 in the contest to NA-194 Rahim Yar Khan. He had won with a small margin and had secured 64,272 votes as against Shahabuddin’s 49,762 ballots. PML-N’s Moinuddin Hashmi had bagged 19,444 votes while PTI’s Imdaddin Hashmi received 15,837 ballots. Khusro Bakhtiar is a partner of Chaudhry Munir in a sugar mills in Rahim Yar Khan and had been inducted in the PML-N courtesy of this connection.

Tahir Bashir Cheema was fielded by the PML-N in the 2013 general elections from NA-190 Bahawalnagar. He is a brother of PML-Q member of the National Assembly Tariq Bashir Cheema. When Tahir Bashir had been sponsored by the PML-N, he had differences with his brother. He had got 83,353 votes against 49,170 ballots of Muhammad Ijazul Haq of Qaumi Mohajir Movement Pakistan and 40,225 votes of PTI’s Malik Muzaffar. However, PML-N member of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Ehsanul Haq has claimed that Tahir Bashir had been expelled from the party four months ago.

Tahir Iqbal Chaudhry was elected as independent from NA-169 Vehari and has longstanding rivalry with PML-N’s Tehmina Daultana in the local politics. He had routed her by clinching 89,673 votes against 72,956 ballots bagged by her in 2013. PTI’s Aftab Khichi had received 27,226 votes. He had dissociated himself from the PML-N a few weeks back on the question of a legislation done by the federal government.

Asghar Ali Shah was also counted by the defectors among them, but he quickly clarified that he has not resigned from the PML-N, but would support the movement for separate south Punjab province. He had also been elected as independent in 2013 by securing 90,537 votes compared to 89,262 ballots of PML-N’s Akhtar Khadim.

Alamdad Lalika from the NA-189 Bahawalnagar on the PML-N, who was also included among the defectors, has quashed this assertion that he has no intention of resigning from the National Assembly or the PML-N.

Sardar Nasrullah Drishak was also elected to the Punjab Assembly as independent from PP-249 Rajanpur in 2013. He maintained this status and did not join the PML-N. He had secured 40,136 votes compared to 27,054 ballots of PML-N’s Tariq Drishak and 24,872 votes of another independent Abdul Aziz Drishak.

Meanwhile, Balakh Sher Mazari, who has been madechairman of the south Punjab province movement, is prohibited from using the title of the former caretaker prime minister as per the 1993 judgment of the Supreme Court that had restored the Nawaz Sharif government and the National Assembly dissolved by the then President, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, using his discretionary powers under the eighth amendment.

The population of the Saraiki belt is 32pc of the entire populace of Punjab. However, according to official data, in the year 2013-14, the provincial government earmarked 32pc of its Annual Development Programme (ADP) – Rs93 billion out of a total of Rs290bn. In the next four years, the allocation went up to 36 percent each – Rs124 billion out of Rs345 billion in 2014-15; Rs144 billion out of Rs400 billion in 2015-16; Rs198 billion out of Rs550 billion in 2016-17; and Rs229 billion out of Rs635 billion in 2017-18.

On the other hand, allocations for five years starting from 2003 to 2008 remained 23 percent, 22 percent, 19 percent, 18 percent and 15 percent. In 2003-04, the allotment of funds from the ADP was Rs7 billion out of Rs31 billion; in 2004-05, it was Rs9 billion out of Rs43 billion; in 2005-06, the allotment was Rs12 billion out of Rs63 billion; in 2006-07 it was Rs18 billion out of Rs100 billion; and in 2007-08 the allocation was Rs22 billion out of Rs150 billion.