LAHORE: As Shehbaz Sharif is likely to the leave his position as the chief minister of Punjab to become the new prime minister, names of four contenders have made rounds to take over the provincial assembly seat he would be vacating soon.
According to sources, either of the four will be the new chief minister of Punjab: Hamza Shehbaz , Rana Sanaullah, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman or Malik Nadeem Kamran.
The former is an MNA and Shehbaz's son whereas the latter three are provincial ministers.
On the other hand, by-elections will be held to fill in the provincial assembly seat, PP-159, that would be vacated by Shehbaz to contest the by-elections in NA-120 for his entry into the National Assembly and subsequent election as the prime minister.
The Punjab Assembly constituency, PP-159, covers some areas of Raiwind, including Kahna Town, Kot Chandraye, Nishtar Colony, Haloki, Kahna Kachha and 50 other villages.
The by-election that would soon be held for PP-159 will most likely have Talha Burki contesting on a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ticket and Mansha Sindhu or Imtiaz Warraich from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Shehbaz won PP-159 during the 2013 elections with 60,603 votes. PTI’s candidate Ali Imtiaz stood second with 19,350 votes.
Meanwhile, in NA 120, Shehbaz will be facing off against PTI's Yasmeen Rashid, who lost to Nawaz in the 2013 polls.