The elections will be held in two months. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
Several groups have emerged ahead of the PTI’s second intra-party polls. However, it is still quite uncertain which of these groups will actually field candidates in the election.
Omar Sarafraz Cheema, the former provincial deputy organiser, has expressed interest in participating in the elections, leading to speculation about fissures within the group led by Chaudhry Sarwar.
Some party insiders have claimed that Aleem Khan, the former Lahore district president, intends to run for Punjab president. Earlier, he had expressed plans to support Chaudhary Sarwar.
“Sarwar did not want to forge alliances under pressure,” says a party official asking not to be named. He says seeing the emergence of cracks within his group, Sarwar was reconsidering his strategy.
Sarwar has been in the spotlight several times over two weeks over charges of using his party office to lay the platform for his campaign for intra-party elections and rumours of quitting the party. Recently, his eligibility to contest the intra-party polls has been called into question. An official of party’s election commission had earlier confirmed that Sarwar had sought clarity regarding his eligibility since he had held the office of Punjab governor two years ago. Another party official confirmed that last week PTI’s Chief Election Commissioner Tasneem Noorani had sought a meeting with Sarwar, who was out of the country at the time.
Omar Cheema has meanwhile been holding meetings with other party leaders to kick-start his campaign.
Though Cheema is yet to make an official announcement regarding the post he hopes to contest for, he told The Express Tribune that he intends to be a candidate. He said the lead-up to the election would likely bring together various groups within the party.
Cheema held a meeting with Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, who also held a public meeting on intra-party elections with another potential candidate Aleem Khan.
Hamid Khan, who is leading the Workers Ittehad group, says, “Merger of groups is probable. These things will be sorted out once there is greater clarity regarding what exactly it is that various groups stand for.”
Party leaders siding with favourite candidates - Chaudhry Sarwar, Ejaz Chaudhry and Aleem Khan – say that splinter groups acted as pressure groups ahead of the elections.
Former PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry held meetings with the former elected body of the party on Saturday. Representatives who were elected during the previous intra party elections met Chaudhry. All these individuals had relinquished their posts in May last year when chairman Imran Khan dissolved party offices in compliance of a report by Justice (retired) Wajih ud Din Ahmed which pointed out irregularities in the 2013 intra party elections.
Chaudhry on Saturday made three demands: that the EC form a system ensuring checks on the amount of money being spent on campaigning; direct elections to party posts and that candidates contesting should have served the party for at least three years.
Sarwar joined the party last year in February after he resigned as the governor of Punjab. He is expected to hold a press briefing later this week after receiving clarity regarding his eligibility from the party’s EC as well as political alliances within the party.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2016.
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