With the much-awaited February 8 elections just two weeks away, the PML-N made a major breakthrough as local party leaders ditched their differences and decided to back the ticket holders on the polling day.
The development was formally materialised on Thursday after Raja Matloob Mehdi and Raja Talib Mehdi met PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore and announced their decision to support the party nominee, Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, for NA-61 Jhelum II.
Similarly, Hamid Hameed – who had developed differences over the allotment of party ticket to DrLiaquat for NA-84, a National Assembly constituency in Sargodha, and announced to compete an independent – too decided to withdraw his candidacy and fully back the PML-N candidate.
The PML-N has experienced difference over allotment of party tickets in some constituencies to those who had earlier left the PTI at the time of no-confidence motion moved to dislodged the then government in 2022. Farrukh Altaf is one of them.
On the other hand, Hameed was one of those who won the controversial 2018 elections for the PML-N amid all the pressure exerted on the party from the constituency previously listed as NA-90 (Sargodha III). However, Liaquat too among the successful PML-N candidates albeit for the Punjab Assembly. He had emerged victorious from PP-77 (Sargodha-VI).
Earlier, Talal Chaudhry, a known face of PML-N, had decided to accept the party’s decision to nominate Nawab Sher Wasir, another arrival from the PTI, as a candidate for NA-96 in Faisalabad.
Although, both of them campaigned hard for the party ticket with Sher Wasir being the successful candidate, Talal had later joined hands with the rival for the sake of his party. Meanwhile, the two provincial assembly seats falling under NA-96 have the PML-N candidates proposed and backed by him.
Some unconfirmed reports have suggested that Talal may be adjusted in the Senate soon as polls for the Upper House of the Parliament must be held in March.
