PTI hopes of local govt success in Punjab diminish day by day

Facing mounting criticism amid worsening economy, PTI's district-level leaders fear it may not do well in LG polls

LAHORE: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf may have been the party to finally push new local government laws through the Punjab Assembly, but its leadership appears to be neither confident nor prepared to do well in the local bodies election in the province.

With its government in Punjab widely criticised on account of worsening economic conditions across the country, success in the polls would be hard-earned, especially in the strongholds of its rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Sources said that although the PTI leadership has directed its ranks to begin preparations, it has not yet formed a committee to select candidates or formulate an election strategy. Meanwhile, reports have emerged that the party is once again picking candidates on partial assessment rather than merit.

According to sources, the party’s central leadership believed it could benefit from the strong court decisions against rivals PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party in corruption cases, which is why it pushed ahead with the new local government legislation despite the advice of some important leaders to delay the local body elections.

Given that it now has one year to hold the polls and that it is widely being criticised for bad governance, PTI’s district leaders and workers now fear that the party may have backed itself in a corner. This, in conjunction with reports of mismanagement within the party is giving rise to discontent within the ranks.

An important PTI leader told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that the party’s central leadership has been neglecting district-level leaders and ticket holders, giving rise to problems with prospective voters.

“The voters of the constituencies now make a joke of PTI, asking if it is the party that has formed the government,” the PTI leader said.

The aforementioned leader complained that big and small business are facing closures, factory owners are laying off people owing to the lack of business, while inflation is soaring persistently. “How can we win the local government election in such a situation?”

The leader added that the PTI central leadership needs to organise the setup of the party so that contact with the public can begin. “Committees to help with the preparation of the election should be formulated on every level. A panel of strong candidates for every level should be named earlier and the one with the best performance prior to two to three months of the election should be made the final candidate.”

PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Niazi said the new local government system will prove to be favourable to the public. “PTI has not formally set out for the preparations of the elections, and it is strongly expected that we will formulate the central and provincial entities prior to Eidul Fitr. Later, we will shift our attention towards the preparation of the election.”

“Leaders and workers of the party who had rendered sacrifices will be made contestants for the election,” he assured.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2019.