PML-N gets boost with Rana Sanaullah’s Senate by-election win

LAHORE: Senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah — a diehard political leader who stood by former three-time minister Nawaz Sharif during all the political upheavals he has faced — grabbed another seat in Senate from Punjab for his party after winning a by-election on Tuesday.

Rana bagged 250 votes out of a total of 251 with one vote rejected in a by-election held in Punjab Assembly amid a boycott by the PTI whose members are listed as SIC (Sunni Ittehad Council) representatives in all the legislatures at national and provincial levels.

The PML-N leader is currently serving as a special assistant to the prime minister on political affairs.

Read more: Tirah rumours Indian conspiracy, IBO to be launched: Rana Sana

PTI WANTS CHAOS

Talking to the media after his election victory, Rana said the PTI founder, Imran Khan, his followers wanted chaos in the country and the entire nation should block their way.

He revealed that the PTI boycotted the by-poll because 10 to 11 of its MPAs had contacted him and wanted to caste their votes in his favour, but he refused.

CONVICTIONS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS

Meanwhile, the by-poll was held after the disqualification of PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry after his conviction in multiple May 9 cases.

Read more: Qureshi acquitted, Yasmin Rashid convicted in Sherpao bridge case

It means the addition to the PML-N’s Senate strength resulted in one less PTI member in the Upper House of the Parliament, making it much easier for the government to get constitutional amendments sail through the House.

But it is just the beginning as by-polls would be held in different National Assembly [Punjab Assembly too] constituencies after the conviction of PTI leaders in the May 9 cases and the resultant disqualifications.

THE 2024 FAILURE

Being tipped as the next interior minister, Rana had failed to win the National Assembly seat from his native town of Faisalabad in 2024 general elections from NA-100. Nisar Jutt — a PTI-backed independent defeated him.

He was a federal cabinet member as interior minister in the Shehbaz Sharif-led government after the opposition managed to remove the PTI founding chairman, Imran Khan, from office through a no-confidence motion in 2022.

However, it was Mohsin Naqvi who Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed as interior minister in the current setup. He later elected as a senator from Punjab in April 2024.

TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY

Earlier, the PML-N led ruling alliance had already secured a two-thirds majority in Senate too after the election of senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in July this year.

Read more: Ruling coalition gets two-thirds Senate control with six-seat win

The process was delayed due to litigation over the reserved seats after PTI demanded a share despite the fact that it could not participate in the 2024 general election on the party symbol.

It was seeking the share on behalf of SIC which didn’t even submit a list of party candidates for Senate polls. After a lengthy legal battle, the Supreme Court at the end decided in favour of PML-N and other ruling alliance members through its reserved seats judgment.

Read more: PTI no more eligible for reserved seats after Constitutional Bench ruling