PML-N leaders Uzma Qadri and Saba Sadiq arrived at the Punjab Assembly wearing coronavirus protective kits to participate in the crucial session for the election of the chief minister.
In line with the orders of the Lahore High Court, voting is to be held today. Therefore, despite testing positive for COVID-19, Uzma arrived at the assembly to cast vote for PML-N’s Hamza Shahbaz.
In a video that recently surfaced on social media, Uzma and Saba can be seen wearing Personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. Despite their illnesses, both the candidates arrived as each vote is important to ensure Shahbaz’s victory.
Current party position
It should be noted that after the changed situation in the province due to the results of the by-polls, PML-Q’s Pervez Elahi is now most likely to replace Hamza as the new chief minister of the province.
Almost all the turncoats who joined the PML-N and voted for Hamza lost to the PTI candidates in Sunday’s Punjab by-elections. The PTI grabbed 15 of the total 20 seats in the Punjab by-polls, while PML-N won four seats and the remaining one seat went to an independent candidate.
Before the by-polls, the PTI and PML-Q had already jointly attained the strength of 173 (163 of PTI and 10 of PML-Q).
Now, with 15 additional seats, this strength has reached 188 whereas the figure of the simple majority stands at 186. This means the PTI and PML-Q have crossed that landmark.
One independent MPA will likely be part of the new ruling coalition.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition has 179 members with PML-N coming in as the second largest party in the Punjab Assembly with 164 members (four new), PPP with seven, three independents and one member of the Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party.
Two MPAs of PML-N, including Jaleel Sharaqpuri and Faisal Niazi, had resigned while Chaudhry Nisar is unlikely to vote for any of the candidates. Two seats are vacant in the House of 371 as a result of the resignation of PML-N MPAs.