LAHORE - In an effort to gear up for the local body polls, PML-Q Punjab President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has summoned a meeting of the remaining loyalists of the party across the province on October 3.
Sources in PML-Q told this correspondent on Saturday the party was facing serious difficulties due to its incomplete organisational setups in all the districts of the province because of massive desertions to PML-N and PTI.
Provincial President Pervaiz Elahi who had been abroad since Ramazan for a minor surgery returned to the country a few days back and called a meeting of the remaining supporters of the party from all corners of the province to discuss an electoral strategy for the local body elections. Central spokesman for PML-Q, Senator Kamil Ali Agha, when contacted, insisted that the meeting summoned for October 3 in the provincial metropolis would be attended by all the district heads, provincial leaders, elected representatives, former nazims, naib nazims and councillors.
The sources said the party leaders who would attend the meeting had been directed by the provincial president to come up with their proposals for devising an electoral strategy for the local elections. They further said the upcoming party meeting would discuss the issue of seat adjustments with likeminded political parties and possibilities of taking solo flight in some areas where the party still enjoyed influence. They added the meeting would ponder upon the local body polls in cantonment boards due on November 3 and the delimitation issue.
Kamil said, “Delimitations through the administration will be tantamount to rigging, which should be carried out by the Election Commission by taking all the political parties.” He said, “We demand local body polls on party basis, but will not boycott if they are held on non-party basis.”
About the party position in the Cantonment Board of the provincial capital, he claimed the party’s infrastructure was still intact in all the boards and they would grab a good share. Answering a question on seat arrangements, Kamil said they had held informal meetings with PTI, PPP, JI and other political parties for the purpose. Formal meetings would also be held with these parties keeping in view the proposals and outcome of the October 3 meeting.
The meeting on October 3, to be chaired by Punjab President Pervaiz Elahi would help the party ascertain its remaining support in the province without which PML-Q could not sustain for a long time.