THE sweeping victory of PML(N) in Sunday’s by-elections in six NA constituencies and seven Provincial Assembly seats in Punjab and Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is surely a reflection of growing confidence of the people in the party because of its people-centric policies both at the federal and provincial (Punjab) level. The PML(N) won all seats up for grabs except for PP-269, where the ruling party had not fielded a candidate against PPP’s Alamdar Qureshi. The six NA constituencies where polling was conducted included NA-18 (Haripur), NA-96 and NA-104 (Faisalabad), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-143 (Sahiwal) and NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan). The seven Punjab Assembly constituencies up for grabs included PP-73 (Sargodha), PP-87 (Mianwali), PP-98, PP-115, PP-116 (Faisalabad), PP-203 (Sahiwal) and PP-269 (Muzaffargarh). It is also satisfactory that despite political tension, the entire electoral exercise remained peaceful and no untoward incident took place.
Some analysts claim that with PTI effectively barred from political activity and TLP’s position predetermined before the elections, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. They also refer to the low turnout in some constituencies claiming it showed no trust of the voter in the system. However, the fact remains that the PTI contested elections in two constituencies of Lahore and Haripur and in other constituencies the opposition supported independent candidates who trailed behind winners. This has been acknowledged by two PTI leaders in their remarks on the outcome of the contest who said candidates were not necessarily in the race to win, as their focus was on preserving their core vote base for constituency politics. As for low turnout, the history bears testimony to the fact that voters do not show the same kind of enthusiasm in the by-elections as they do in the case of general elections and the trend witnessed in Sunday’s election is no different. Political differences apart, it would be injustice to deprive the PML(N) credit for pursuing policies that increased its popularity. In a statement, the Prime Minister has aptly attributed the win to the vision of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, his “exemplary leadership” and the hard work of the party’s workers. He said this victory in the by-election reflects the dedication of our team and the trust of the people.
He also praised Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, saying the win demonstrates public confidence in her tireless efforts for the province’s development. There are reasons to believe that people cast their votes in favour of candidates on the basis of performance of their party and service delivery. The performance of the Government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is acclaimed not only at home but also globally. His Government might not have fulfilled all aspirations of the people but there is a strong feeling that the country was on the right path. It is also a ground reality that Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz has established new benchmarks of performance and good governance during the last two years and that is why the image and popularity of the PML(N) improved significantly during this period. Her government launched scores of initiatives that have not only benefited people in each and every nook and corner of the province but also brought about visible transformation in almost all spheres of life. Punjab has traditionally remained a stronghold of PML(N) and the setbacks that it received in the past due to hostile factors have effectively been countered by policies aimed at good governance and service delivery. The result of the by-elections shows despite frantic efforts to regain popularity in Punjab, the PPP has not been able to make its presence felt effectively, not even in the South Punjab, where it was supposed to have better prospects. The elections have further improved the numerical strength of the PML(N) both at the Centre and in Punjab but it is always better to take other political forces along in the larger interest of the country.
