Three more independent MPAs-elect slated to join PTI today
August 01, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Three more independent candidates elected to the Punjab Assembly are set to join the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, sources said on Wednesday.
MPAs-elect Taimoor Ali Lali, Mohammad Taimur Khan and Aslam Bharwana arrived at Bani Gala earlier today, where they will meet PTI chairman Imran Khan and announce their inclusion in the party.
Independent candidate Taimoor Lali won PP-93 Chiniot 1 with 46,773 votes in the general election on July 25, defeating PTI’s Muhammad Haider Lali who received 40,112 votes.
Mohammad Taimur Khan, on the other hand, secured his provincial assembly seat from PP-124 Jhang 1, winning with 32,110 votes against PPP’s Syed Ali Akbar, who managed 24,226 votes.
PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry had said on Geo News programme Aaj Shahzab Khanzada Kay Saath Tuesday night that two more independent candidates would be joining the party today, as the PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz remain embroiled in a tussle over who will form the government in Punjab.
Fifteen independent MPAs-elect have joined the PTI in the aftermath of the general election so far.
"PTI now has a majority with 182 seats in the Punjab Assembly and 165 seats in the National Assembly,” Chaudhry had claimed on the programme.
The Imran Khan-led party officially won 123 seats in the Punjab Assembly while PML-N secured 129 seats during the polls. PTI is in a position to form a coalition government not only in the centre but also in three provinces of the country — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab.
The PTI chief will chair a party meeting today to discuss forming of governments in the centre and provinces, Geo News reported earlier, citing sources.
The party’s top leadership from the centre and provinces will attend the meeting, where the selection of PTI candidates for chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab will be discussed.
The meeting will also discuss the allocation of ministries in the centre and provinces.
Sources also said it is expected that names of the federal and provincial cabinets will be announced today.
