PML-N’s CM hopeful faces tough test

Maryam Nawaz Sharif will have to navigate a strong opposition in Punjab if she does head the province

LAHORE:

With the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab set to call a farewell meeting of the provincial cabinet in the coming week, Punjab will finally have an elected government in place after more than a year - and it is expected that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) will be in the driving seat.

The PML-N’s candidate for the province’s top job is the party’s Senior Vice President, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who if gets the requisite votes for the Chief Ministerial slot will be the province’s first ever female Chief Minister. However, it is pertinent to mention that Maryam has never held public office before and has been elected to the Punjab Assembly, and National Assembly, for the first time in her political career. Be that as it may, a breakdown of the elected Members of the Punjab

Assembly shows that the PML-N has 138, and 16 independents have joined the ranks of the party since the election, which puts the party’s total representation in the provincial legislature at 154. These numbers will translate into the PML-N getting 34 of the 66 reserved seats up for grabs. It is also expected that the PML-N will get the support of 10 Members of the Punjab Assembly of the Pakistan People’s Party, 8 members of the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) and 5 members of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).

Read: Maryam vows ‘new era’ in Punjab

Any party vying for the top job of the province needs the support of 186 members, which the PML-N currently, and by extension its Chief Minister candidate, seems to enjoy.

Nevertheless, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed independent candidates, who will form a more than 100 member strong opposition in the Punjab Assembly will prove to be a thorn in the side of the Chief Minister office hopeful.

In that context, the biggest challenge that the Sharif family’s apparent successor faces, if she is chosen as the Chief Minister in the Punjab Assembly, would be to rebuild the PML-N’s popularity in the province. While Maryam and political leaders considered close to her have refrained from making any policy statements before the provincial government is formed, The Express Tribune learnt from various well-placed sources that the Chief Ministerial candidate has held multiple meetings with the province’s top bureaucrats in preparation for her new role.

The Express Tribune learnt that the focus of these meetings has been development works in the province and the law and order situation. Commenting on Maryam’s maiden bid for the Chief Minister office given her lack of experience, Professor Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais, who teaches political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), said that the Chief Ministerial candidate was in a precarious position due to the accusations of electoral rigging.

“The accusations of rigging will follow her into office and will make life tough for the PML-N,” predicted Dr Rais. “If the opposition was weak it would have been smooth sailing. However, the opposition has a significant number of seats and once they start their series of protests, the provincial government will find it hard to execute its agenda,” added Dr Rais while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2024.