Today, CMs from Punjab and Sindh will be chosen.

PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif is the party’s nominee for chief minister in Punjab, where he will run against Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate Rana Aftab Ahmed, while PPP’s Murad Ali Shah will take on Ali Khurshidi of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in Sindh.

After the province police attempted to detain PTI’s previous nominee, Mian Aslam Iqbal, for the position, PTI abruptly announced Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan as their replacement.

PTI leader Hammad Azhar pointed out that while Mian Aslam Iqbal was first nominated by party founder Imran Khan for the position, large police contingents were stationed outside the Punjab Assembly to apprehend him.

Rana Aftab, the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) nominee for Punjab chief minister, met with Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan after the verification of his nomination papers.

The PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami would abstain from the CM election process in the Sindh Assembly. Murad Ali Shah was the chief minister nominee of the PPP.

However, Ali Khurshidi has been put forth by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to take the chief ministership.

Numbers-based game

Notably, the PML-N has a sizable field of candidates, which heightens the election’s competitiveness. 321 out of 371 members of the Punjab Assembly took the oath of office on Friday at the event.