Fazl,Nawaz, Zardari, review defeat of PML-N candidates in Punjab bye-polls during telephonic contact
ISLAMABAD, July 18 (SABAH): Former prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, a day after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in Punjab by-elections, said that he was not in favor of forming government from day one.
According to media reports, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PPP Co-Chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari and JUI-F Ameer Maulana Fazlur Rehman held a telephonic conversation to discuss situation after majority of the PML-N-candidates lost by-polls held on Sunday.
Leadership of the coalition government was of the view that masses did not vote for PML-N due to inflation and hike in prices of petroleum products.
The trio also decided possible options for holding early general election but decided to consult other members of the coalition government before taking any decision.
The three leaders have reportedly agreed that a detailed plan of action will be adopted in consultation with other allies.
According to the sources, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman reviewed the results of the Punjab by-elections and discussed the future strategy of the coalition government in Punjab and the centre. It is expected the meeting of the leaders of the political parties included in Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will be held soon.
In Sunday’s Punjab by-polls, the PTI bagged 15 out of the 20 constituencies up for grabs in the province.
The clear victory of PTI in the Punjab by-polls has turned around the number game in the Punjab Assembly, with Chaudhry Pervez Elahi now most likely to replace Hamza Shahbaz Sharif as the new chief minister of the province in the coming days.
Almost all the politicians who joined the PML-N and voted for Hamza Shahbaz Sharif lost to the PTI candidates.
PML-N won four seats and the remaining one seat went to an independent candidate, apart from PTI’s 15 seats.
Before the by-polls, the PTI and PML-Q had already jointly attained the strength of 173 (163 of PTI and 10 of PML-Q). Now, with 15 additional seats, this strength has reached 188 whereas the figure for the simple majority stands at 186. This means the PTI and PML-Q have crossed that landmark. One independent MPA will likely be part of the new ruling coalition
It merits mention that according to the preliminary, unofficial results, the PTI bagged 15 seats, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) could only secure four seats.
In a recount of votes for the Punjab chief minister election on July 22, in accordance with the Lahore High Court order, the PTI is now poised to win, in effect removing PML-N’s Hamza Shahbaz from office.