By Sankar Ray
A clear win in 15 out of 20 seats in the bye-elections to Punjab provincial assembly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has unnerved the 13-party ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement.It indicates that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is not at all formidable in its home turf. It was thrashing late swinger by the former Pakistan cricket team captain to trounce the PDM. Elections took place in the constituencies which fell vacant after the de-notification of dissident members of PTI in the provincial assembly. Almost all who defected to the PML-N from PTI were defeated, suggesting strongly that ‘Kaptaan’s political base remains strong vis-à-vis PML-N in Punjab.
A few days before the polling, the PTI supremo tweeted in an emotional way “Too much at stake for July 17th By-Elections, it’s a battle for Dignified and Azaad Pakistan, please go vote early and help others vote on time!”, harping on his repeated accusation that the fall of PTI-led government was inspired externally, pointing fingers at the USA. In the beginning of June this year, he warned of a civil war in Pakistan if fresh elections are not announced. The PTI chairman kept saying that he was looking up to the Supreme Court to decide on his party’s plea to provide protection to the protestors. In fine, the PTI head embarked on a multi-pronged strategy to ensure maximum wins in the bye-elections.
Energised by the sweeping victory in 20 seats, King Khan has raked up the demand for national elections. “The only way forward from here is to hold a free & fair election under a credible ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan). Any other path will only lead to greater political uncertainty & economic chaos”, he tweeted.
Prior to the 20-seat bye-elections, the Punjab Legislative Assembly had 349 members of whom the : PTI had 163 MLAs and its ally PML-Q ten The PML-N had 163 members, while its coalition partner PPP had seven, four independents and one Rah-e-Haq party. Now, with 15 additional members of Provincial Assembly, the PTI strength rose to 188 two above the magic figure of 186. This means the PTI and PML-Q have crossed the landmark to form the provincial government. The likelihood of an Independent MPA supporting the new ruling coalition is high. .
The top leadership of PML-N which has been traditionally strong in Punjab, the most populous province in Pakistan is panicky.. The PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif called for introspection. The party paid the price of “difficult decisions” taken by the coalition government, he added He spoke to the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and discussed future strategy. An emergency meeting of party leadership is being arranged as per the directive of Nawaz Sharif to discuss the reasons for ‘political disaster’ and work out a remedial course to regain the losing grounds.
In a tweet from her official handle, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, who spearheaded the party’s by-election campaign, admitted that her party ought to accept the election results with an open heart. What she wrote in Urdu which, translated, read, “PML-N should openly accept the results. One should bow before the decision of the people. In politics, there are always wins and losses. The heart should be enlarged. Wherever there are weaknesses, efforts should be made to identify them and overcome them. God willing, it will be fine”.
The PTI chief tweeted in Urdu stating “Thanks to the grace of God and the hard work of the people and the public trust in Imran Khan, Tehreek-e-Insaaf won 15 out of 20 seats in Punjab, thanks to all those who supported Tehreek-e-Insaf in this struggle for true freedom! For others who can’t read Urdu, he tweeted, “PTI tweet-Thank you Pakistan, the lotas and imported government stands defeated .PMLN shouldn’t be surprised at their disastrous results, after all people were impressed by Maryam’s words regarding Lotas!” However, Maryam Nawaz or anyone of top brass of PML-M restrained themselves from reacting to the venom, lying in Kaptaan’s language.
The erstwhile premier took this opportunity to repeat his accusation that the federal government is an ‘imported’ one. He snapped fingers at the Election Commission of turning a blind eye and said that “courts should be opened now”. [and] act.” The federal information and broadcasting minister Maryam Aurangzeb dismissed Khan’s claim of rigging, asserting “not a single complaint” of rigging was received in those 20 constituencies. He said these were not rigged, unlike the by-elections held during the days of premiership of Imran Khan. But it was a crucial election – a matter of ‘life and death’ for both the ruling coalition and the opposition.
Ever since the PDM coalition came to power with Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif as the Prime minister, he had been forced to take some unpleasant and unpopular decisions like increase in energy prices, taxes and reduction in spending – the conditions slapped by the International Monetary Fund which granted a US $ 1.2 billion loan to help Islamabad bail out foreign exchange crisis –the forex reserve having been dwindling worrisomely. Pakistan awaits $ 4 billion external assistance from friendly countries next month. But this can be at the most a palliative, not a cure.
PTI’s one-point programme is to dislodge the PDM from office as early as possible and certainly the by poll results have given a big boost to the morale of Imran Khan supporters to intensify their movement for holding early general elections. (IPA Service)
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