GUJRAT: In what appears to be preparation for the next general elections, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN`s) Punjab government has sought proposals for development schemes worth Rs500 million from each lawmakers and ticketholder of the party in the province.

Of ficial sources say the deputy commissioners of all the Punjab districts have been issued directions by the CM office to contact the party lawmakers, including members of national and provincial assemblies and former party ticket-holders, in their jurisdic-tion and ask them to submit their proposals for development schemes in their respective constituencies.

Most of the lawmakers and ticket-holders have submitted their proposals in this regard, the sources say.

Moreover, they say the DCs have also been asked to resolve the matters relating to the constituencies of the PML-N ticketholders `on merit and priority`.

The sources say a list comprising the ruling party lawmakers and ticket-holders in each district has also been sent to the respective DCs.

Interestingly, the list for Gujrat does not carry the name of two PML-N ticket-holders and former lawmakers belonging to Nawabzada family. In the list, the names of ex-MNA Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gull and ex-MPA Nawabzada Haider Mehdi, both PML-N nominees in the last election, from NA-68 and PP-28, respectively, are missing, a senioradministrative of ficial confirmed to Dawn.

He says that instead of Mr Mehdi, the name of PML-N Gujrat district president Tahirul Milk has been mentioned as the party ticket-holder from PP-28, whereas for NA-68 no party nominee has been mentioned, causing concern among the local PML-N cadres and supporters of the Nawabzada family.

Similarly, in the list the names of previous ticket holders for NA-69 and PP-30 ex-MNA Chaudhry Mubashar Hussain and Raza Ali Warraich have been replaced with Aleemullah Warraich and Azam Warraich.

Meanwhile, in NA-70 (Lalamusa-Dinga) senior PPP leader and Adviser to Prime Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and PML-N`s Jaafar Iqbal have also.been asked to submit proposals for uplift schemes in their respective constituency.

Mr Gull, is not only a strong political rival of Chaudharys ofthe PML-Q in Gujrat, is a senior politician and a candidate of Nawabzada family from NA-68, where the PML-N currently has no suitable alternative candidate.

Exclusion of Gull`s name in the list of the PML-N probables has raised questions about the future of Nawabzada family in the party.

On knowing about the development, sources say, Mr Gull initially took up the matter with federal minister Ahsan Iqbal who, according to sources, also asked Gujrat DC on phoneabout the absence of the senior politician`s name from the list.

On Friday, when Mr Gull himself called on the DC to discuss the issue, the politicians was told raise the issue at the `appropriate forum` (the Punjab government).

Sources in PML-N say that a group of the party`s former lawmakers and ticket-holders had serious reservations at the alleged dominance of Kotla group of MNA Abid Raza in the party`s local affairs. The lawmakersallege that Kotla group has been trying to sideline its rivalsin the party to ensure its dominance in local politics.

A former PML-N MPA says that given the `Chaudhrys factor` in the local politics, the dominance of Kotlas may cause serious political challenges for the party in Gujrat, suggesting all local groups of the party should be given equal importance for better results.

He says that another party loyalist, ex-MNA Malik Hanif Awan, who served as the party`s district president for two decades, including the Musharraf regime, had been sidelined due to such `discriminating policies`.

Awan had contested as an independent candidate from NA-71 in 2018 in protest against being ignored bythe partyleadership.

He says now the Nawabzada family is also being discriminated against by the leadership, which can have political cost for the PML-N in Gujrat.