Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, who is one of the key players of power politics, is likely to contest the next elections from Sangla Hill (NA-117), the Minute Mirror learnt on Saturday.
According to insiders, Sarwar has completed his homework and he has also started preparations in this regard.
He is likely to run for two seats (one National Assembly and one provincial assembly from the constituency of NA-117 that comprises Sangla Hill and Shahkot).
Sharing details, the source said that Sarwar has started meeting influential people of the constituency hailing from different castes.
It has also been learnt that he is inviting the people from NA-117 at the Governor’s House on a daily basis. A delegation of the Sangla Hill Bar Association visited the Governor’s House a few days ago. The governor also held meetings with local journalists from the Sangla Hill Press Club.
Last Sunday, Sarwar went to Sangla Hill and Shahkot where he addressed different gatherings at over a dozen reception camps. He had also inaugurated several water filtration plants in the constituency under the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority as he is the patron-in-chief of the said authority.
“It seems that the governor will contest elections from NA-117 and he will formally make an announcement after getting a go-ahead from Prime Minister Imran Khan,” said an insider requesting not to be named.
He had also arranged a free medical camp of the Sarwar Foundation in the constituency, besides inaugurating a model village in the area. Sources revealed that Sarwar had got ample development funds for NA-117 and soon they will be spent on road infrastructure of the constituency that falls in the Nankana Sahab district.
Sarwar had never contested any direct elections earlier. He came to Pakistan after leaving the politics of the UK in 2013 when he was made Punjab’s governor by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He left the PML-N after developing differences with the then ‘powerful’ chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). He ‘surprised’ many people when he became the first senator of the PTI from Punjab in 2018 despite his party lacking the numerical strength to get him elected. He got around a dozen extra votes in the Senate elections and became the senator, who secured maximum first priority votes in those polls. It was a ‘surprise’ for the PML-N as its provincial lawmakers voted for Sarwar in 2018.
When the PTI came to power, he was made Punjab’s governor again. He is also part of 20-member Central Advisory Committee of the PTI.
According to political pundits, contesting elections from NA-117 will be an uphill task for Sarwar keeping in view that the constituency is a stronghold of PML-N. PML-N veteran and former federal minister Chaudhry Barjees Tahir had won the NA seat for five times.
He became a member of the NA after grabbing 71,891 votes in 2018. Independent candidate and former MPA Tariq Mehmood Bajwa secured 68,995 votes while Chaudhry Bilal Ahmed Virk of the PTI could get 66,994 votes.
The district has two National Assembly and four provincial assembly seats. In 2018, the PML-N and the PTI won one NA seat each. However, three MPAs from the constituency belong to the PML-N.
When contacted, Governor Punjab Sarwar said that the whole of Punjab belonged to him and he would disclose his constituency after consulting with the party. “One thing is clear that I’ll contest the next elections. I’ll disclose the constituency after consulting with the party and the prime minister,” he told Minute Mirror.
It was also learnt that he may contest elections from Toba Tek Singh, his birthplace, to keep his options open.
