Intra-party polls: PTI electoral race heats up

Contest between groups backed by Tareen, Qureshi

LAHORE: After the announcement of Waleed Iqbal’s candidature for PTI’s Lahore president, efforts are underway to field MPA Shoaib Siddiqi against him.

The main contest in the Punjab is between the Shah Mehmood Qureshi-backed Nazriati Group and Jehangir Tareen-backed Unity Group. The two groups have expedited efforts over the past few weeks to forge alliances. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Siddiqi claimed unanimous support within their camp for him.

“I have been informed that our friends in the party have expressed confidence in me to contest,” he said. Siddiqi is believed to be close to Aleem Khan, the NA-122 by-election candidate of the PTI. Party sources claim Khan has strongly pushed for Siddiqi’s candidature for Lahore president among supporters. Siddiqi said he would be contesting as a candidate from a group of “supporting friends” which includes the likes of Aleem Khan and Jehangir Tareen.

An official announcement of his candidature is yet to be made as major party leaders are engaged in election-related duties ahead of the NA-101 by-elections scheduled for next week. Party sources claim that the Tareen-backed group has been making all out efforts to get other party leaders to support its candidates.

In this regard, former PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry is also expected to make an announcement on Friday (today).

He is scheduled to preside over a meeting with over 200 party leaders. Sources claim Chaudhry has been in talks with the Tareen-backed group for over two weeks now. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Chaudhry said on Thursday that no decision had been reached yet in terms of supporting a particular candidate. Speaking to The Express Tribune earlier in the week, he had said that it was very likely that his camp would support Tareen-backed Chaudhry Sarwar for Punjab president.

Sources part of the talks between Chaudhry and Tareen’s group claim that assurances for support have already been given not just for the president.

But Chaudhry says no such understanding has been reached adding that any support given would only be for a presidential candidate. “I am not part of any group. I do not believe in group politics. Any support lent by us would be to a candidate we believe is worthy of the task,” he said.

The meeting, scheduled to be held on Friday (today), will deliberate on two points: the office for which Chaudhry shall be running and support for candidates running for Punjab president. Sources in the Chaudhry camp claim there is also talk to requesting him to reconsider his decision of quitting the provincial race or fielding another candidate. Asked about it, Chaudhry categorically rejected the possibility of reconsidering his decision to bow out from the provincial race.

On the other issue, he said, the option chosen by the majority of supporters in his camp would be their final decision. “We will take a decision on what the majority supports. Whether this entails support for one of the candidates already in the field or fielding our own candidate,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PTI election commission has rejected rumours of any delay in holding the elections.

The commission added that the schedule will be announced following the completion of the party’s membership drive slated to conclude this month.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2016.