Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, president of PPP Punjab is one of the aspirants of becoming the chief minister of Punjab with the blessings of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who joined the party in 1993, remained the central deputy secretary general and was appointed the PPP Punjab president in November 2006.
He will contest from two provincial constituencies, besides his own national assembly seat. He has also served as a state minister. It is expected that PPP is going to get the rule of Punjab when PPP would be directly in power.
The PPP central secretary general Jehangir Badr is also interested in becoming the chief minister and he intends to contest on two provincial constituencies PP-142 and PP-157 besides his own national assembly constituency NA-120, indicating his interest in the CM nomination. Badr has made no public declaration of interest in the post.
As the political weather in the country heats up and the elections are around the corner, the race for the Punjab chief minister nomination in the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) ranks has kicked off, and three main leaders are seeking the nomination from the party. He has been long associated with the party. He remained the PPP additional secretary general and twice served as the PPP Punjab president. He was a federal minister in Benazir Bhutto's cabinet and is a close confidante of hers.
Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar from Gujrat is third in the run. He remained state minister in Benazir Bhutto's cabinet, besides enjoying several other party slots. He is close to Asif Ali Zardari. After Zardari's release from jail and his stay in Lahore, Ahmed Mukhtar rented a house near the old airport and named it Bilawal House-II.
He is from Gujrat, the home district of Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi. In the coming elections, he is likely to contest against Shujaat Hussain. In the PPP's history, no PPP Punjab president was nominated for the CM. Therefore, the possibility of Punjab assembly opposition leader Qasim Zia's nomination can't be ruled out. He joined the party in 1992, and has remained loyal since.
The PPP party leaders when contacted said they could not comment on the issue and that they were waiting for Bhutto's decision. They said all three top leaders were trying hard for the nomination.
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