IPP has failed hugely because it has not been able to attract independent candidates from PTI, says journalist Hassan Iftikhar
KARACHI: The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party has failed to influence candidates in its own way, unlike previous 'king's parties', but it could attract successful 'independent' candidates from the PTI after the elections, say the election experts when asked their opinion on the newest kid. in the Punjab block.
Boss Geo's Electoral cell Nadia Malik says that “the IPP is probably looking to take NA97 Faisalabad, NA143 Sahiwal, NA155 Lodhran, NA117 Lahore, NA149 Multan, although in many of them, the other candidates are very strong.” According to Malik, the PML-N's alliance with the IPP and seat adjustment with them focuses on “seats in the National Assembly where the PML-N itself was weak or did not have strong candidates.”
Is it possible for the IPP to gain more seats after the elections through independents (like PTI candidates) joining? Malik says, “It depends on how the post-election scenario plays out and what benefits independents the most. But the political future would be a concern for people who win with PTI supporters as they are familiar with the anger of PTI supporters. PTI”. , ministries and protocols have their own charm.”
It seems that the IPP, for its part, is taking the seats it is contesting seriously. During a press conference on Friday, IPP patron-in-chief Jahangir Tareen said that he was very happy to contest from his “home constituency” of Multan, calling the city an area that is his “identity”. Tareen called Multan his “focus”, emphasizing what he would do to develop the Multan constituency.
speaking to NewsPML-N leader Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, who is also vice-president of PML-N Punjab, says: “IPP is our strategic partner. At the time of VoNC, these friends and allies were on the right side of history .their position was that they had been defrauded [by the PTI] and that this fraud was not only perpetrated against them but also against their voters. So they participated in the VoNC. “We respect these people.”
Rana Mashhood explains the current seat adjustment policy finalized by the PML-N: “The problem is that in each constituency [PML-N] We have very strong people with long-standing affinity and affiliation with us. So a big task was undertaken whereby we adjusted seats with the IPP's most important allies, as moving alongside all our dedicated party candidates was going to be a challenge. It is worth mentioning here that, on average, in a constituency we have had between 12 and 15 nominations (and I mean averages); in some places, there were over 30 nominations, so getting these people to step aside while we accommodated allies and then getting our voters to vote not for the 'sher' but for another symbol – these were challenges, but we have faith in “To our followers who are politically mature and that this adjustment that we have made now will work and that it will also work beyond the elections in this spirit.”
Where do you see the PTI independents going? Rana Mashhood says that “independents usually end up going to the party that has the best chance of forming a government, the party that can help them get the job done in their constituencies.”
For journalist Hassan Iftikhar, who has carefully analyzed the current electoral situation in Punjab, “the PPI has been a great failure. Unlike other royal parties that are created before the elections, the PPI has not been able to capture the imagination of the independents. [from the PTI]”.
Iftikhar offers a quick summary of the IPP numbers: “I think the IPP is only contesting in about 11 National Assembly constituencies from Punjab and there is one from Islamabad. The PML-N has not adjusted seats with the IPP in all these constituencies.” elections. There have been seat adjustments in two seats in Lahore: 117 where Aleem Khan is contesting and 128 where Awn Chaudhry is contesting. There is one in Sahiwal in the Noman Langrial seat. In Taxila, they have a seat adjustment against Chaudhry Nisar and no They have fielded a candidate against Ghulam Sarwar of the IPP, although they have fielded a candidate for the provincial seat there. In Lodhran, Jahangir Tareen faces Siddique Baloch of the PML-N, but Tareen has managed to keep the PTI candidate from running, so Lodhran is now a contest between “
Iftikhar says there are many constituencies where strong PTI candidates have chosen to remain PTI candidates, even if they are now independents: “For example, in Bhakkar we have the Nawani Group which changes affiliation depending on the direction the winds blow. of power; strong locally. This time they are also competing independently. Although many people are being pressured to go to the IPP, they do not choose to go to the party and rather compete independently.”
So does that mean PTI independents will not go to IPP after winning? Iftikhar says they could: “It could be that these independent candidates contest on behalf of the PTI and then when they win, they join the IPP. Right now, the establishment's favorite party is the IPP.”
Iftikhar points out another (arguably the most) interesting aspect of all this: “Tareen is contesting a provincial seat as is Aleem Khan, who is also contesting a provincial seat. This has naturally led to speculation that in the next setup, Punjab may get an IPP chief minister.” If he has the option, he believes that the PML-N can accept Aleem Khan as CM instead of Tareen as CM. The reason is that Aleem Khan can get the job done for his constituency. Iftikhar calls this the PML-N's “war of survival” and explains that the PML-N voter is not an ideological voter but one who depends on the governance work being done in the constituencies. For that, says Iftikhar, “the PML-N would obviously prefer to have their own prime minister, but if not, they would want someone to do their job.”
Journalist Majid Nizami also interprets the IPP ward in terms of the party's “first priority”, which he says is “getting to the assemblies, that's all”. Nizami also believes that the IPP faces a “problematic situation, in the sense that after the adjustment of seats with the PML-N now at least three members of the PML-N are contesting against them as independents. For example, in Taxila, against IPP Khan's Ghulam Sarwar, we now have lawyer Aqeel Malik contesting as an independent candidate. In Khushab, IPP's Ghulam Asghar's opponent is Moazzam Kallu, a former PML-N MP. Then we have Chaudhry Tufail in the constituency by Noman Langrial. In many seats, the PML- N candidates have appeared, some even independents, so the IPP is in big trouble.”
But would it hurt the PML-N if it did not field a candidate from its party and then its own people contested as independents for those same seats? Nizami says “Not at all.” He goes on to explain that: “Whoever wins the elections will join the PML-N. If the IPP wins the PML-N seat and if an independent candidate wins, he or she will also join the PML-N.”
And what about the independent candidates of the PTI? Since the PTI candidates will now contest as independents: is there anyone who can cause difficulties for the PML-N or the IPP? Nizami says there are a considerable number of people who can do it. What is the realistic position for the PPI to get some seats? According to Nizami, this is a difficult question. He feels that “Aleem Khan could win, Tareen could be a possible winner from Multan, not Lodhran, although in Multan Rana Mahmoodul Hasan of PML-N moved his entire group and joined the PPP, so the equation in Multan too became unbalanced.”
Originally published in The News
