Shahbaz to retain Punjab CM’s slot

The PML-N’s top leadership has a very little choice other than Shahbaz Sharif for the office of Punjab chief minister after party leaders overwhelmingly closed their ranks behind him.

It is learnt that most party leaders had rejected the possibility of nomination of anybody else as the chief minister in initial consultations in Raiwind and ModelTown.

Earlier, Shahbaz expressed his desire to move to federal government to man the Water and Power Ministry with a challenge to end load shedding. There were rumours in the party that in case Shahbaz left for the Centre, the next choice for the office of chief minister would be either Khwaja Asif or Nisar Ali Khan. Both are quite close to the Sharifs. What lent further credence to these rumours was the fact that both were contesting on provincial seats, Asif for the first time.

It was learnt that Shahbaz was still interested in moving to the Ministry of Water and Power but the response from the party’s rank and file against any other nomination made Nawaz change his mind.

Sources in the party confirmed that Shahbaz was going to be the next chief minister of Punjab.

Party leaders backing Shahbaz believed that entrusting anybody else with the coveted office would promote grouping and infighting in the party.

They further believer that only Shahbaz could deal with all members fairly.

“If the chief minister is somebody else, chances are that he will promote his group at the cost of others,” commented one PML-N leader.

Again, there is a feeling in the party that it is Shahbaz who deserves big credit for the party’s victory in the elections.

“It was his performance in Punjab based upon a political strategy that contained the ascendancy of PTI in the province,” a senior official said.

Again, it is argued that Shahbaz is the most suitable for the job. “He knows where he ended and where to start,” a source commented.