KARACHI: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday hinted at the possibility of 50 PTI lawmakers in Punjab Assembly voting against Parvez Elahi the party`s candidate against PML-N`s Hamza Shehbaz in the run-off election for Punjab chief minister that will take place today (Friday).

Addressing a press conference after the federal cabinet meeting, Mr Sanaullah said that it is possible that PTI members who are `sensible` and whose `conscience is alive` will question Mr Elahi`s selection as the candidate.

`PTI chairman Imran Khan had campaigned against Mr Elahi and called him `the biggest dacoit of Punjab` and now he was asking his party to vote for him,` the minister said.

The lawmakers are also apprehensive on Mr Elahi`s statement to `instantly dissolve the assembly` on Mr Khan`s directives, the minister said, calling it an indication of how much value Mr Elahi gives to the assembly.

The minister rejected the PTI`s claims that PML-N was `buying` its party members, while admitting that the his pparty is`in contact with everyone` as it is their `political and democratic right`.

While saying that the PML-N `despises the politics of horse trading, Mr Sanaullah reminded the PTI chairman how independent candidates were brought into his party`s fold af ter the 2018 elections.

`Who spent money on the people you welcomed in your party [PTI] after the 2018 elections. Who spent the money on it? Whose plane was used [to bring people]?` he asked Mr Khan who has been alleging that the PML-N is using money to buy PTI`s members`votes.

Mr Sanaullah added that although the PML-N thinks `Mr Elahi neither has the right nor the capacity to become the chief minister`, yet the party will not indulge in `buying and selling of votes`.

Mr Sanaullah, who is the president of PML-N`s Punjab chapter, also defended his party`s recent drubbing in the by-polls, saying that the defeat is `not indicative of the PML-N`s popularity`.

`No party`s popularity can be judged on 20 seats. The 20 people, whom we had given the tickets, carried the burden of Imran Khan`s incompetent and unpopular Punjab government,` he said.

He added that the constituents were miffed at the candidates, many of whom were minister in the Usman Buzdar-led government, for the lack of development work.

However, he conceded that the party`s decision to give tickets to disgruntled PTI members was rejected by its workers and supporters who didn`t camping wholeheartedly for these candidates.