With the joining of five independent elected members of Punjab provincial assembly, the tally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has risen to 128 from 123, increasing the chance of the party to form government in Punjab. According to a PTI statement, four independent members-elect from Punjab including Hussain Gardezi from Kabirwala, Syed Rafaqat Hussain Shah and Basharat Randhawa from Layyah and Hamid Patafi from DG Khan have announced their joining the PTI after their meeting with Imran Khan at Bani Gala.
Another MPA-elect Mohammed Salman, who contested against PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and defeated him on the provincial seat from PP-217, Multan, also announced to join PTI after Jahangir Tareen lobbied to bring him into the fold of PTI.
The entry of Salman into the party due to efforts of Tareen, according to the sources, has further exposed the differences between the two party heavyweights - Qureshi and Tareen. However, PTI senior leader Naeem ul Haq denied any rift within the party.
With the inclusion of five MPAs-elect, the number of PTI reached to 128 against PML-N's 129. "The people of Dera Ghazi Khan have given me a heavy mandate and I promised them that I would gift this seat after winning to PTI Chairman Imran Khan," said Patafi. "We were also contacted by the PML-N but we joined the PTI because we trust in Imran Khan's leadership," he further told reporters at Bani Gala.
The PTI, which secured 123 provincial assembly seats in Punjab, needs 26 MPAs-elect to form government in the province. The PTI statement said that all the MPAs-elect expressed confidence in the party manifesto and its leadership and pledged their support to promote Imran Khan's vision and fully participate in the party's efforts to bring a "change".
Imran Khan congratulated the returning candidates on securing victory in the province and welcomed them into the PTI, the statement read, adding the party leaders announced that they would be granted important positions in the government due to be formed soon.
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