Game of polls: PPP fails to find potent rival to Nisar
Ruling party has been on the lookout for a possible candidate for the past two years.
File photo of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. PHOTO: ONLINE
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Peoples Party initiated a ‘hunt’ to enlist a political candidate strong enough to inflict a crushing defeat on Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the upcoming elections.
However, the ruling party’s endeavour has reaped no results and the hunt has been termed a failure, the Express Investigative Cell (EIC) has learnt.
According to sources, the top brass of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been looking to find a suitable candidate for the past two years to fight against Nisar in the upcoming general elections.
The leader of the opposition, like before, will contest the polls on two National Assembly (NA) seats – NA 52 and NA 53 – and on one Punjab Assembly seat, PP 7.
PPP eyes Nisar as a tough competition and hoped to block his entry in parliament.
During their five-year tenure, Nisar, as the opposition leader, attacked policies crafted by the federal government, and has been an unflappable and unfriendly leader of the opposition.
Against this backdrop, an influential woman leader of the PPP supervised the headhunt. From time-to-time meetings were arranged between potential candidates and the ruling party’s leadership, luring them to side with the PPP.
A powerful investor from the ruling party also jumped into the fray and played his part in finding the right political candidate. Sources say that he held meetings at breakfast and dinners to persuade the candidate to switch over to PPP, assuring him that he would not have to worry about any kind of investment or arrangements for contesting elections against Nisar.
However, a PPP lobbyist told EIC that the hunt to find a strong candidate to vote out Nisar in the poll battle has resulted in failure.
“After the failure of the hunt, PPP decided to give NA 52 seat to PML-Q under the seat adjustment formula,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2013.
The Pakistan Peoples Party initiated a ‘hunt’ to enlist a political candidate strong enough to inflict a crushing defeat on Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the upcoming elections.
However, the ruling party’s endeavour has reaped no results and the hunt has been termed a failure, the Express Investigative Cell (EIC) has learnt.
According to sources, the top brass of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been looking to find a suitable candidate for the past two years to fight against Nisar in the upcoming general elections.
The leader of the opposition, like before, will contest the polls on two National Assembly (NA) seats – NA 52 and NA 53 – and on one Punjab Assembly seat, PP 7.
PPP eyes Nisar as a tough competition and hoped to block his entry in parliament.
During their five-year tenure, Nisar, as the opposition leader, attacked policies crafted by the federal government, and has been an unflappable and unfriendly leader of the opposition.
Against this backdrop, an influential woman leader of the PPP supervised the headhunt. From time-to-time meetings were arranged between potential candidates and the ruling party’s leadership, luring them to side with the PPP.
A powerful investor from the ruling party also jumped into the fray and played his part in finding the right political candidate. Sources say that he held meetings at breakfast and dinners to persuade the candidate to switch over to PPP, assuring him that he would not have to worry about any kind of investment or arrangements for contesting elections against Nisar.
However, a PPP lobbyist told EIC that the hunt to find a strong candidate to vote out Nisar in the poll battle has resulted in failure.
“After the failure of the hunt, PPP decided to give NA 52 seat to PML-Q under the seat adjustment formula,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2013.