Maryam makes subdued opening of election campaign

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who is contesting her first-ever general elections, on Sunday formally opened her NA-119 election campaign and befitting her status, instead of going to the constituency, she made the party workers from there visit her at the central secretariat.

The PML-N’s only standing rival in the election ring in Lahore, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, despite hailing from Sindh that happens to be his party’s strong hold, has made several visits to the NA-127 constituency.

In fact on Sunday, Bilawal held a sizable rally in Lahore’s Township area, in a bid to rally support of the masses and court anti-PML-N vote, in view of the PTI’s ordeal that practically crippled one of most popular party.

For the PML-N, with the winds in its sail and with the blessing of the powers that be, election seems to have become a mere formality, if there is no change of hearts in Rawalpindi though.

Another development from Maryam’s constituency that further obviates the need to run any door-to-door election campaign was the decision of the PTI’s ticket holder from NA-119 to join the PML-N. Mehr Muhammad Waseem has announced support for PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Interestingly, there were several other PTI ticket holders who too had already decided in advance to trade their loyalties for monetary gains.

A PTI ticket holder from Punjab, once quietly and unabashedly revealed to The Express Tribune that as after winning they would be under no party discipline, so they would gravitate towards a party that would offer them the most perks and the most money.

Read: Maryam vows to end inflation, restart uplift work

The PML-N senior vice president on Sunday, addressing the NA-119 constituency that includes a good number of the party’s office bearers, said that she had wanted to visit the constituency and knock at every door but was caught up with responsibilities that her party had entrusted her with.

In view of that, now it was up to the PML-N’s local ranks to run the campaign for her.

She said that she did not see herself as some party leader, a claim that couldn’t be far from the truth.
She said, “Today, you people have come to me and on January 25, I will visit the constituency.”
She said that NA-119’s development and uplifting was now her responsibility.

Interestingly, the central party secretariat was kept off limits to the electronic media during the event. However, they were given a five-minute video and some tickers of the event.

Maryam visited her PP-159 Kahna constituency, which is not so far from her party’s central secretariat as opposed to NA-119 that is at the western end of the city.

Strangely, according to several electronic media journalists, Maryam’s team did not even bother to invite the media during her visit to the constituency and instead shared a satellite feed with them.

The PML-N that is highly reliant on the establishment to ensure them victory has faced troubles during such a visit in the past.

PML-N President and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif prior to the announcement of elections visited his constituency and had to face embarrassment at the hands of angry constituents who stopped his car and chanted slogans against him.

As the PML-N has the support of powerful quarters, the caretaker Punjab government promptly booked the protesters in a frivolous case to teach them a lesson.