PML-N leaders call for course correction after loss

LAHORE:

After losing another election to the PTI in its political bastion Punjab, most of the PML-N leaders called for a course correction, fearing that they would not be able to win in the next general elections.

The loss reaffirmed the concerns held by many within the party that the compromise their leaders had made to come to power was a catastrophic mistake, however, other party leaders termed the defeat a “clan affair”.

The PML-N that had decided not to contest any by-elections and even convinced the PPP to follow suit, interestingly contested the by-election in NA-193 Rajanpur, which according to unofficial results it lost.

This was not the first time the PML-N lost to the PTI. Previously, the PTI had bagged two major victories in Punjab. It had won elections on two National Assembly seats from the PML-N, held a few months prior. During this round of elections, the PTI only lost one seat that too was to the PPP in Multan.

Previously, it won 15 provincial assembly seats of the 20 that came up for grabs. These back to back defeats sounded alarms in the PML-N circles regarding the party's political future.

The concern held by those that The Express Tribune talked too, was not about the mistakes the party had committed, instead it was more about the mistakes that the leaders believed the party was about to commit.

A senior party leader and MNA from Punjab told The Express Tribune that the PML-N was where the PTI was in late 2020 – at the lowest point of its popularity. “Not immediately heading into elections after dislodging the PTI, is the biggest blunder the party made.”

He said the party compromised on everything it stood for. Even today, the party’s narrative was centered on its own needs and desires.

He said that talking to a poverty-stricken audience about biased judiciary and the PTI’s failure to negotiate a fair deal with the IMF was something that had no takers in the masses.

The party was being reduced to a laughing stock by its leading family. “The senior leaders despite knowing the ground realities are happily enjoying mighty positions in the government.” However, he said, all was not lost for the PML-N.

Without naming Maryam Nawaz, he said the Sharif family should interact with the public to know the real issues confronting the masses.

He said that the party leaders should not surround themselves with blue-eyed people and shower all their affection on them. “The PML-N still has a vote bank, which is not that difficult to reenergise.”

A former provincial minister, on the condition of anonymity, said that these were wake-up calls for the party. “Maryam’s leadership may help the party turn things around but she needs to grow as a leader.”

Making same mistakes over and over again, will not help the party, he added.
PML-N MNA Chaudhary Khalid Javed said that Rajanpur defeat was a completely different story as it was less between parties and more of a “clan fight”.

When asked that Sardar Awais Lagari’s son was in the running who was second in command in PML-N Punjab (general secretary), he said that “yes, it is a reality that his son lost” but still it was a clan fight. He said overall when inflation figures drop, things would rapidly change for the PML-N.

He said the three rounds of elections that the PML-N lost were all PTI’s vacated seats, “so it wasn’t like the PML-N is losing a seat”. When asked why contest these elections when the decision was vice versa, he said that the decision to contest this by-election was taken prior to the decision of other by-elections, which was why the party went ahead with it.

Former provincial assembly member Uzma Qadri also maintained that post-IMF deal, the economic situation would improve in the country, which would change the public perception.