PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif talks to the media. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has set its sights on nabbing 56 of the 68 National Assembly seats from central Punjab come what may. In this regard, party chief Nawaz Sharif has been personally overseeing the finalization and distribution of tickets to aspiring party candidates from the region.
Sharif on Wednesday presided over the meeting of the party’s central parliamentary board, interviewing and finalising candidates for 20 seats from the Faisalabad division. The PML-N chief had earlier finalised tickets for 23 seats from the Gujranwala division. He is set to finalise candidates for seats from Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts today (Thursday).
According to top level PML-N officials, the party is keen on winning 56 NA seats from central Punjab (which comprises the Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad divisions) in order to attain its target of 110 NA seats from the whole province. Although the PML-N only managed to win 37 of the 68 NA seats from central Punjab in the previous elections, they said the party chief was optimistic about achieving the target this time around.
PML-N’s top level policymakers have vowed to win 22 of the 25 NA seats from Lahore division and have awarded tickets for the seats to strong candidates. Of Gujranwala division’s 23 NA seats, the party is determined to win at least 18 seats. And although it has received a large number of applications for Faisalabad division’s 20 NA seats, PML-N has finalised strong candidates for 16 seats.
According to insiders at the meeting, PML-N discussed the possible threat posed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in central Punjab and briefed its candidates on countering the latter party’s popularity in the region. They said Dr Tauqeer Shah, the former secretary to the Punjab chief minister, recommended final candidates for the seats and briefed the PML-N leadership on countering the PTI threat based on the surveys he conducted in the central Punjab constituencies during his tenure.
Nawaz Sharif is also set to finalise candidates for northern Punjab (Rawalpindi and Sargodha divisions) in the coming days. Following that, he will finalise candidates for the Lahore division.
Gujranwala division
The division comprises six districts: Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, and Gujrat.
So far PML-N has finalised Usman Ibrahim for NA 95. Engineer Khurram Dastgir for NA 96, Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk for NA 97, Rana Nazir Ahmad Khan for NA 99, Bilal Ejaz for NA 100, Saira Afzal Tarar for NA 102, Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal for NA 105, Malik Hanif for NA 107, Khawaja Asif for NA 110, Khush Akhtar Subhani for NA 111, Rana Abdul Sattar for NA 112, Syed Iftikharul Hassan for NA 113, Zahid Hamid for NA 114, Mian Muhammad Rasheed for NA 115, Daniyal Aziz Chaudhary for NA 116 and Ahsan Iqbal for NA 117. Candidates for NA 101, NA 103, NA 104, NA 105, NA 108 and NA 109 have yet to be decided.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS (48)
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Mian sb'll surprise, Inshallah, when he'll see, there is no single seat in punjab for ImranKhan. Inshallah, b/o youth is not for sale also wise
please tell me what will the fate of PML(N) Canidates from Rawalpindi.What will be the position of Imran khan from NA-56
Pmln is sleeping in this modern and awaken atmosphere of people.They still count on old tactics not knowing that this the time of social media and private media not ptv.They r going to see the force of passion and money.
i think pml n can win 100 seats out of 148 in punjab.. i dont see pti much bigger threat for pml n in punjab.. as there is not electibles in pti and youth can change 5 % results only... pml n is in real position to bag 100 seats practically from punjab inshallah
The cases against Sharifs are very obvious. They got huge loans and they did not pay. Where is the politics or bad timing in it? These cases have been swept under the rug when Sharifs signed a 10 years agreement with Gen Mush and King of SA. The maligned NRO had thousands of beneficiaries not just Zardari. Some of the beneficiaries had multiple cases of murders against them. Now the Sharifs have started a jihad against the Govt and NRO with the help of SC, this means the cases against them also stand revived. Now it is level playing field. Instead of PCO judges only beating up on the elected leaders the Sharifs and not so sharif including generals are going to be tried for their corruption. It is a good thing that PML-N went against the PPP and Zardari who were elected despite the Swiss cases. Now the shoe is on the other foot and the facts should come out.
@Max:
Can anyone trust a guy who purchased a palatial abode through a "Beenami Transaction?"
How can anyone trust a guy with such a dodgy combover?
@ Waseem Sarwar
Pity that you cannot pronounce bani gala .. the headquarter of your maestro.. Just like true followers of PTI and typical preachers of change; who do not know what is going on below their nose
Running on punjab government's funds is far better than using zakat and donated money for such a studio.
"They said Dr Tauqeer Shah, the former secretary to the Punjab chief minister, recommended final candidates for the seats and briefed the PML-N leadership on countering the PTI threat based on the surveys he conducted in the central Punjab constituencies during his tenure."
I am sure they do not consider this as Pre-Poll reging? God knows what else they have done to get through this election including using Patwaris for such surveys and making peples mind. However, this is not fair wiht other parties and stakeholders and therefore the current executives/government officers in Punjab and other provinces should be changed.
in addittion, for Mr. Tauqeer Shah, this is professional dishonesty and he should be held liable as public exchequer is used to benefit a political party. Election Commission should take action against him.
No doubt the Nawaz Sharif is an experienced politician and PML(N) has a strong vote bank in Punjab but they will face tough competition from PTI and from some heavyweights of PPP. I seriously doubt that they can win 56 NA seats from Central Punjab, I think around 30 to 40 NA seats may be more appropriate expectation, but it depends on Imran Khan's ability to bring the youth to polling stations if he can the results may be much different!
trolololol......
Is NS still living in a stone age? This is not 80's or 90's Pakistan when we did not have the option of Imran Khan.
PTI all the way!
Mr Nawaz Sharif did not deserve to be a district level politician, it was Mian Sharif's wealth and Gen Jillani who made him a politician (his leadership attributes are doubtful to me). The biggest question he has to answer is that why is he quiet on Musharaf
@SheeshaDude:
Thanks for opening my eyes to your earth shattering and pious discourse. Now let me see here, Adapting to new ideas would be to steal the funds collected as donations for a cancer hospital but instead spending it on political and personal projection of a certain "Mr. Khan" or investing such funds in the deserts of Oman in a phony investment venture overseen by a Mr. Imtiaz Hyderi.
On the issue of slavery which constrains one's ability to look forward can be described when the likes of Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Khursheed Kasuri have their sons working as interns in the office of Senator John Kerry or were complicit when Pakistan's soverignity was liened and the yanks were given a free hand to kidnap our own citizens and launch unabated drone attacks. But hey, since they have submitted themselves to the cult of Imran David Koresh Khan; they are now the champion poster boys of anti-status quo forces.
Yes, we the Pakistanis will continue to cry on top of our lungs and raise out voice against corruption, terrorism, unemployment and a plethora of other social and civil injustices we are subjected to on a daily basis. We would be up against even a PML-N government if it fails to mitigate the suffering of a common Pakistan, rest assured.
@Voice of D.I.khan:
I guess you have not heard of Faiz Timman and Ayla Malik, as far as fake degrees are concerned ;)
Nawaz Sharif knows the politics of Pakistan.. He will file the most appropriate candidates & then run a very effective elections campaign which will outdo all the parties.
@Rao Kalim Lahore: Corruption Free Team...????????????? You mean Educated Politicians with Fake Degrees...???
I am not in Pakistan but I hope that people should realise this time that what PML (N) has done for them in previous terms..... n if you look at their scrutiny process unbiasedly, you will see the ultimate criteria is, who is the winning horse -- just bring him on, forget about this character. The ultimate goal for PML N is getting 'kursi'. Believe you me, they will do no different this time.
@Adnan Siddiqi: You are exactly what is wrong with this country. Failure to adapt new ideas, failure to look forward to the future since we believe in slavery, we believe in status quo, we do not want to change. But yes we will cry the loudest when there is loadshedding, unemployment, corruption, terrorism. Bravo my fellow citizen. Vote for PTI. Vote for Change !!
PML N is in for a huge surprise this time around. Huge bulge of youth is supporting PTI. My whole family is going to vote for PTI. Imran Khan's campaign will determine whether PTI wins 50 seats or so, or 100 plus. Counting on you Khan.
This is called overestimation and overconfidence !
wish to win for prosperous future of the country by a well experienced and corruption free team of PML-N
lol. that reminds me of Haroon Rashid's reply to Kamran Shahid's Show "PMLN is going to win each and every seat. even if Quaid-e-Azam is contesting against them."... that was a classic sarcastic slap across anchor's face.
56 out of 68? only PML N is contesting elections in central Punjab? :o
@Liaqat:
NS would have been afraid/apprehensive had he claimed to have swept from all over Pakistan and the Indian Sub-Continent and claiming to be the PM of Pakistan on the back of an epiphany. This is optimism in every sense of the word and the voters would decide on 11th May on how far PML-N will go.
PML-N is strong in Central Punjab (Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad divisions). North Punjab (Rawalpindi and Sargodha divisions) is also its stronghold. South Punjab seems a weaker link, but hope that N-League will perform better there as well. PML-N is front runner in whole Punjab. PTI will pose a serious threat although. PPP and PML-Q are in the back seat.
@AB: Even if there is one at mentioned place, which i can't pronounce (my bad), it won't be running on Punjab government's expense. :)
@Voice of D.I.Khan:
PML-N defended the political system and not just a political party or a person which/who was voted by the people into power. Then again, the mutual supporters/trolls of Musharraf and IK wouldn't have a clue about the democratic ethos and its mechanics.
Good to know that Nawaz Sharif is optimistic about win in Central Punjab. PML-N will succeed in whole Punjab. Hope that it will get good number of parliament seats from K-P, Baluchistan and Sindh too.
Come on PTI, sweep them all. They have shatered dreams of taking "dosri bari" since massive October Lahore rally of PTI. Credit goes to Kiptan Khan. Other wise this bari bari game was supposed to go on. Thanks Kiptan for giving awareness to Nation.
with the new trends in democracy that PTI has brought to the nation, these family based parties will cease to exist after the upcoming elections!! IA Pakistan will enter into an era or prosperity and peace not the one where people like Miyan saab can come and fool the people of Pakistan!!!
@ Waseem Sarwar
nothing sure about raiwind but certainly a photoshop studio cum media cell in basement of bani gala
@Nida Ali: PTI is B Team of PPP...???? Lol... What about PML N, defended Zardari for 5 Years...????
does not matter we will fight mian shb...IK youth is with u
Can't see them winning anything notable in Gujrat or Mandi Bahaudin.
@Nida Ali: does raiwind place holds a media cell these days? :)
@Usama Bin Ahmed:
Lolllzzzzz.....Definitely PTI all the way, down the bottom that is :D Mind enlightening us on how many seats this "Alleged' political party won between 1997 and 2008?
realistically speaking, PML N can win max one NA and 2 PP seats from Gujrat. Can't see Pervaiz Elahi,Wajhat hussain and Qamar Zaman Kaira losing from PML N candidates. Mandi Bahaudin will be a tricky one too as they have 2 strong candidates for NA108 and the candidate who won't get party ticket, will surely go for PTI or independent pushing PPP on front foot again. Rural Mandi Bahaudin always go for PPP while PTI is there to dent PML N's vote in city. Gujranwala holds a popular vote bank for PTI and few strong electable for PML Q and PPP so overall, its a tall claim.
He (NS) is not optimistic this time but afraid.
@Voice Of D.I.Khan and other PTI trolls:
Heared lot of sweeping from PTI...............but at the end of the day, i am sure they will only be left with weeping.
Mian Sahab... You'll be Surprised, Inshallah.... PTI will sweep Punjab as well as other Provinces... YOuth is not for sale...
Although the PML-N only managed to win 37 of the 68 NA seats from central Punjab in the previous elections, they said the party chief was optimistic about achieving the target this time around.
lOl.. dream on .. PTI all the way...!
we will inshallah
Lol, he must have set sight for all 342 seats from all over Pakistan as if such brilliant was his previous two terms. What a joke!
Vote for PTI!
They are heading towards precise implementation of thier Election Ploicy and Analysis through thier think tank knowing ground realities.
InshaAllah PML-N will win the elections with thumping majority by defeating all conspiracies of PPP & its Bteams (PML-Q, MQM, PTI).