LAHORE           -        As only one day is left for Punjab Chief Minister Ch Parvez Elahi and the Opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif to evolve consensus over one name for the caretaker chief minister, two nominees of the PTI-PML-Q alliance have been dropped out of the race for varying reasons though. The ruling alliance had suggested three names including for mer Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Mahmood Khosa, Secretary cabinet Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and former federal health minister Muhammad Naseer Khan for the slot of caretaker CM in Punjab. Nasir Mahmood Khosa on Monday excused himself from accepting the offer despite the fact that the PML-N had also no objection over his name. In a statement, he thanked both sides for considering his name for the office of caretaker chief minister, but politely refused to take up this responsibility. In a tweet, senior PML-N leader Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that professional competence and integrity of Nasir Khosa was an established fact. “We contacted him to accept the office of caretaker CM as the consensus candidate of the two sides, but he excused himself from accepting the offer”, he said. Another nominee Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera has been technically knocked out of the race since he is a serving bureaucrat and cannot be considered for the caretaker CM slot before his retirement which is due on January 31, and by that time the process to appoint a caretaker CM has been completed as per the constitution. Meanwhile, the PDM alliance in Punjab is yet to come up with its nominees for the caretaker chief minister. Although Hamza Shehbaz’s representative Mohammad Ahmad Khan made a telephonic contact with Ch Parvez Elahi but the two failed to evolve consensus over any name. Reportedly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a party meeting on Tuesday (today) at Model Town to finalise names for the caretaker CM. The PM will also consult the PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari in this regard.