Raja Riaz eyes PML-N ticket for NA seat

Ehsan vows to contest his case for Faisalabad constituency

LAHORE:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Ehsan Afzal has hinted at putting up his case before the party for the current National Assembly (NA-110) Faisalabad seat as there was a discussion that the ticket may be awarded to PTI disgruntled leader, Opposition Leader Raja Riaz.

The Opposition Leader had won the National Assembly seat on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket against Ehsan’s father, Rana Afzal Khan in the 2018 elections.

Responding to rumours within the party that he may be considered for a Punjab Assembly (PA) seat, young PML-N leader Ehsan said that he would respect and honour his party’s decision.

As the de jure NA Opposition Leader, Raja Riaz is currently engaged in the process of picking the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the leader of the treasury benches.

The local leadership of the party, however, was certain that the PML-N’s NA ticket for Faisalabad would be awarded to Raja Riaz, a decision that the leaders believe would leave Rana Ihsan with no choice but to accept a Punjab Assembly seat under Raja Riaz.

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It is worth mentioning that the opposition leader, during a television programme, had admitted that he was an aspirant for the PML-N ticket.

Raja Riaz had won against the late Rana Afzal by a margin of around 5 per cent.

This time, however, he may end up obtaining more votes than in the last election due to the fact that he has his own vote bank in the constituency in addition to that of the PML-N, a local leader of the party said.

Rana Ihsan’s family, on the other hand, are considered dedicated party loyalists. Local leaders also sung praises of the late Raja Ejaz’s honesty, a quality they claimed was rare these days. They also conceded that honesty was not a practical trait for politicians to have as politics sans thana (police station) and kutchery (court) couldn’t possibly win a politician a dedicated following.

Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan claimed to have worked hard for both the constituency and the party in the last few years on the basis of which he said he deserved the National Assembly ticket.

He also said that, although he was hearing chatter among the people regarding his political future, nothing had yet been communicated to him via official sources.

He said that although he will put up his case before the party leadership to get an NA ticket, he would honour the decision of the party leadership in this regard.

He said he had not created any liaison with Raja Riaz of the type that normally existed between an MNA and the MPAs under them.

The PML-N leader also emphasised his right to voice his opinion before the party leadership, adding that the difference between the two sides was minimal.

Meanwhile, former MPA Faqir Hussain Dogar, who had won a provincial assembly seat that lies in the said NA constituency and who is likely to be a candidate for a ticket this time around as well, said there were commitments with Raja Riaz, although he denied any official communication.