F.P. Report
LAHORE: In a significant announcement, the results of all 296 seats in the Punjab Assembly elections have been announced shockingly the independent candidates have emerged as the front-runners, securing a total of 138 seats.
The political landscape in the Punjab Assembly reflects the dominance of independent candidates, majority of whom are affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who managed to clinch a total of 138 seats out of 296 seats in Punjab.
Following closely behind, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured 137 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has claimed victory in 10 constituencies. Other notable performances include the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) with eight seats, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) with one seat, and the Pakistan Muslim League-ZIA (PML-Z) secured one seat.
Additionally, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has also clinched one seat in the Punjab Assembly. PP-1: PTI-backed independent candidate Qazi Ahmed Akbar won the seat with 49257 votes. PML-N’s Jahangir Khanzada bagged 36443 votes. PP-2: PTI-backed independent candidate Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan bagged the seat with 36093. PML-N’s Ifthikhar Ahmed secured 35291votes. PP-3: PTI-backed Syed Aijazul Hasan secured 36897 votes to beat PML-N’s Hameed Akbar who bagged 31857 votes.
PP-4: PML-N’s Sher Ali Khan defeated PTI-backed candidate, Sardar Shahnawaz Khan on PP-4 Attock. secured 48,593 votes, while Shahnawaz secured 38,790 votes. PP-5: PML-N’s Malik Aitebar Khan defeated PTI-backed candidate, Malik Jamsheed Altaf on PP-5 Attock. Khan secured 46665 votes, while Altaf secured 43620 votes.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who are potentially set to form coalition governments in the Centre, exchange reservations over the criticism from both sides before the conduct of general elections 2024.
In a speech on Friday evening, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif announced that he had tasked his brother, former PM Shehbaz Sharif, to reach out to major parties such as PPP, MQM-P and others, to form an alliance. In this vein, Shehbaz Sharif met with PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, at the residence of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif told Asif Zardari that PPP leadership – prominently Bilawal Bhutto – unnecessarily criticised PML-N in the election campaign. Responding to the reservation, Asif Zardari said it was part of the election campaign and must be ended. “Mian Sahab [Shehbaz Sharif], you too had been criticising PPP”, Zardari told the PML-N president,
The PPP co-chairman stressed that now the matters should be resolved for the peaceful formation of the government. “A joint formula must be established to stable the democracy”, he added. Meanwhile, the two parties sought time for consultation before a formal agreement, sources added.
