GUJRAT: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), an important ally of the ruling PTI, may go solo in the upcoming local bodies elections in Punjab instead of fielding joint candidates with senior partner in coalition governments at the federal and provincial levels.

       Well-placed sources in the party told Dawn that the PML-Q had planned to pitch its own candidates for all important slots of district mayors in at least a dozen districts of Punjab for which the party had already completed its homework.

       They said a number of politically influential families had already joined the PML-Q during the last one year as the party planned to field heavyweights in the local government elections to show its sizeable presence in Punjab.

       A senior party leader told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the Q would not seek PTI support for the party candidates of district mayor even in party’s bastions like Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Bahawalpur etc where party had clinched National and Punjab Assembly seats under a seat adjustment with the PTI in 2018.

       He said some elements in the PTI would often taunt the PML-Q of winning seats due to the support of PTI in 2018. Now the Q had decided to go solo in the coming local bodies polls so that such elements within the ruling party could know the ground reality.

       Moreover, he said consistent defeats of PTI in by-polls in Punjab and now in the first phase of local elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa were enough to prove where the senior coalition partner stood today. “The PML-Q does not want to go into the local polls with extra baggage.”

       Asked about any chance of party’s future seat adjustment with the PML-N in the coming general or local elections in the wake of Nawaz Sharif’s recent telephonic call to Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi, inviting the latter to visit him in London, he said there was no such chance as whenever there were some crucial circumstances, the Sharifs would think of getting support from the Chaudharys.

       Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Chakwal, Bahawalpur and Daska tehsil of Sialkot have already been under the administrative control of PML-Q as per an agreement between both the coalition partners.

       Sources said the PML-Q had planned to field its candidates for the district mayors in these five districts whereas candidates in Sargodha, Hafizabad, Faisalabad, Kasur, Multan, Jhang, Khanewal and Toba Tek Singh would also be launched.

       Another source in PTI said that the PML-Q had already sought the district mayor slots for its at least 10 nominees in various parts of Punjab however a senior PML-Q leader denied such a report.

       In Gujrat, former federal minister Chaudhary Wajahat Hussain has already announced to pitch Begum Sameera Elahi, the sister of party chief Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, as the Q nominee for Gujrat district mayor’s slot and the party has also launched the election campaign for her since Ms Elahi had been a runners-up in the last elections of Gujrat district council chairman in 2016.

       Chaudhary Pervez Elahi had already declared Tanzeela Aamir Cheema as party candidate for Sargodha district chairperson more than a year ago while speaking to a reception at the Cheema house in Sargodha.

       Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2022