CM Bizenjo has the last laugh

Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo finally has his revenge. He became chief minister of Baluchistan after forcing out Sardar Zehri. He climbed to the top political post of the province at the relatively young age of 43. Every politician dream to become minister, chief minister and then prime minister but everyone is not so lucky. But Bizenjo is one of the luckiest politicians. He became minister after winning his first election in 2002.  He became deputy speaker Baluchistan assembly after joining the PML-N led coalition government. He wanted to become speaker in 2015 when speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali was forced to resign by the PML-N leadership. He was accused by PML-N leadership for not voting the PML-N senate candidates. Deputy speaker Bizenjo expected to become speaker in his place but PML-N chief minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri decided to nominate Raheela Durrani as speaker. Bizenjo resigned as deputy speaker in protest in 2015. He was eyeing on the speaker’s slot in 2015 but failed to grab it. But just two years later he took oath as chief minister of Baluchistan. So he has the last laugh.

PML-N is accusing the real powers of this country for the split and destabilisation of its government and party in Baluchistan. 15 out of 22 PML-N members rebelled against the leadership and sided with opposition parties to bring down the coalition government. Whatever was the purpose and whoever initiated the crisis in Baluchistan but Mir Quddus Bizenjo is the real winner. The interesting fact is that Bizenjo’s party PML-Q has just 5 members in the house of 65 members but still it won the top slot of province. This outcome is not possible without the support of the real powers. He remained loyal to powers be and finally rewarded in a big way.     

So Mr. Bizenjo is the real winner of the political crisis that was developed artificially to weaken PML-N before the senate election.   Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo is young politician from Awaran. He belongs to a traditional tribal political family. His father won three elections from Awaran constituency now called PB-41. His grandfather was also a politician. He was first elected to the provincial assembly in 2002 and became provincial minister for livestock and dairy development in Jam Yousuf’s cabinet. He once again elected on a PML-Q ticket and joined the coalition government as deputy speaker.

 He has become 16th chief minister of Baluchistan. In an inaugural speech in the Baluchistan Assembly after his election as chief minister, Bizenjo promised to make healthcare, education and clean drinking water for the people his top priority during his stint in power. He belongs to one of the poorest and most backward district of Baluchistan. He has been part of the government since 2002 but the people of his constituency still lack basic facilities and utilities. His biggest challenge is to develop his own district to reduce poverty. 

The newly elected CM said in his address that “I will use the short time given to me to find solutions to the problems of citizens and will try to boost good governance. “Maintenance of public order shall remain the utmost priority with the protection of the life and property of the people without any discrimination,” Bizenjo told the House. He said that he wanted to ensure the completion of CPEC projects as well as other development schemes. He hinted that he would undertake legislation to protect the inalienable rights of the residents of Gawadar district as a whole and also sought help from his colleagues in this regard. “The water scarcity in Quetta will also be addressed on priority basis,” he added.

N&A news analysis