Lodhran victory restored power of vote, says Nawaz

–Deposed PM says victory in by-poll shows ‘decisions are made by voters’ thumbs, not umpire’s finger’

–Takes a jibe at PTI chief, says ‘nation will teach Imran Khan a lesson’

–Shehbaz Sharif says voters have rejected Imran Khan’s ‘arrogance and lies’

LODHRAN: Visibly more confident after the recent victory of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Lodhran by-polls, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that the people of Lodhran have shown that decisions are “made by the voters’ thumbs, not the umpire’s finger”, commending them for “restoring the sanctity and respect of the vote”.

Nawaz told loyalists in a party’s workers convention at New Stadium, Lodhran, that his political opponents did nothing but told lies and hurled allegations; while his party remained busy in serving the masses.

He said this was a lesson to his rivals, particularly Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, who, as he says, has taken a “decision” to learn lessons from this by-election. “Imran Khan, it will be the nation who will teach you a lesson,” the PML-N chief added.

“Before the election, Ali Tareen said that they have already won the poll but only need to extend the lead,” Nawaz retorted to the PTI’s claims of popularity.

On Monday, PML-N candidate Syed Iqbal Shah had defeated PTI secretary general’s son Ali Tareen by taking 116,590 votes in the final results as against Tareen’s 91,230. The seat had fallen vacant after the Jahangir Tareen was disqualified by the court in December.

Addressing the charged crowd, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the voters had dismissed the arrogance of Imran Khan with which he had been making claims prior to the PML-N victory.

The PML-N leaders, including heir apparent Maryam Nawaz, were in Lodhran to thank the locals for choosing the candidate fielded by the PML-N.

The preparations for the convention remained in full swing all Thursday night, and the PML-N workers danced to the beat of drums in celebration of their leaders’ arrival.

It is worth mentioning that NA-154 of Lodhran was among four constituencies for which the PTI chief had long struggled to get the results of the 2013 general elections checked on allegations of rigging. Jehangir Tareen had defeated Siddique Baloch in the by-polls.

Political analysts blamed dynastic politics, the politics of money and incompetent advisers of Imran Khan for the defeat in NA-154. They criticise that Imran Khan’s policy goes contrary to his party’s claims of ‘change’. The PML-N has proved that it is a powerful party for electoral politics by winning the by-election.”