Hamza Shahbaz, Pervaiz Elahi's nomination papers accepted

LAHORE: The nomination papers of Hamza Shahbaz and Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi for the election of the Punjab chief minister’s slot have been accepted by the secretary Punjab Assembly on Saturday.

Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, currently the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, filed his nomination as the joint opposition’s candidate for the chief ministership of the largest federating unit of Pakistan.

However, Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi, the current speaker in the Punjab Assembly, filed his nomination after being nominated by the ruling party PTI and the resignation of CM Usman Buzdar.

The Punjab assembly secretariat after security accepted the nomination papers filed by both the government and opposition candidates.

According to sources, a cutthroat contest is expected in the Punjab Assembly tomorrow.

In the 371-member Punjab Assembly, the PTI has 183 lawmakers, PML-Q 10, PML-N 165, PPP seven, five are independent and one belongs to Rah-i-Haq.

The groups of disgruntled PTI MPAs commonly known as the Chheena group and the Tareen Group are being considered a decisive factor in the Punjab chief executive’s election.

Also Read: Tareen Group three MPAs extend support to Pervaiz Elahi for Punjab CM

Currently, the Chheena group, with their 14 MPAs, sides with the government candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi.

Meanwhile, the Tareen group, which reportedly has the support of 17 MPAs,  has announced to support opposition candidate Humza Shehbaz Sharif in the CM polls.

The session of the Punjab Assembly to choose the new leader of the house will be conducted by deputy speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.