The fate of Punjab Chief
Minister Usman Buzdar has become a permanent feature of the country’s political
discourse. A similar round of speculations about his status erupted in the wake
of the Senate elections. However, so far there is no clear indication that he
is on his way out. The larger problem is the poor record of governance in
Punjab. Whether it is the failure of the waste management system or frequent
reshuffling of senior officials, in most areas the government of Chief Minister
Buspar has been found wanting. In addition, weak political management has led
to disgruntlement among the ruling coalition parliamentarians from the
province. In the last two years, there has been a visible attempt by the PTI’s
federal leadership to run Punjab’s affairs from Islamabad. The results have not
been encouraging. Yet, Prime Minister Imran Khan continues to reiterate that Mr.
Buzdar is the most suitable person for the job
This despite the fact
that people in his win party and liaise have been advising him to rethink his
decision to keep him on as chief minister. This is linked dot an increasing
tempo of pulls and pushes by aspirants from within the ruling coalition to
elbow their way into the province’s top office. Within the PTI, there is a long
list of aspirants who have been lobbying to replace Mr. Buzdar. From among the
allies, PML-q leader and Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi
is seen as the strongest candidate. However, the PTI leadership is said to be
reluctant to hand over the reins of the province to an allied party. The PPP is
also eyeing an in-house change in the Punjab Assembly by roping in the PML-Q
and having the PML-N lend its support. For now, there is little headway on this
front.
If the performance of
the present chief minister is an indication of how things will be manages
ahead, it is hard to see the kind of betterment happening in Punjab as claimed
by the ruling party. This means with each passing day the poor governance will
start to weigh heavy on the PTI’s re-election prospects in the province. This
can have dangerous consequences because Punjab remains a stronghold of the
PML-N and mismanagement in political and administrative areas will help the
PML-N build its own stock for the next elections. The prime minister will need
to build take some action in order to halt the sale. However, the complexity of
the situation will make such a change very difficult. Punjab is turning out to
be the biggest challenge for the PTI government at a time when it needs to show
performance in all areas. Till such a change happens and there are visible
signs of improvement in the province, the fate of Usman Buzdar will keep
featuring prominently in our national discourse.
