MULTAN,June 9th"A major reshuffle is likely in the Punjab PPP organization within the next few months, following the resignation of its top man, Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan, who quit office of the provincial party president after facing defeat in the by-polls.Sources in the PPP say that the party leadership has so far deferred the issue related to the appointment of the new PPP Punjab president until Eid ul Fatr. Though several names are under consideration but three of them are in circulation in the party cadres for the slot i.e. former incharge central secretariat Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Federal Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira and Zaka Ashraf, currently associated with the Zarayi Taraqiyati Bank.PPP insiders say that the party leadership is willing to appoint a stalwart who can not only strengthen the party structure in Punjab but also give a tough time to the PML-N. After a series of defeats in the by-polls, the PPP finally managed to emerge victorious on two national assembly seats and one provincial assembly seat in the by-polls. Now, the party leadership wants to appoint someone as the provincial head of the party who is capable of putting the party on the way to success. To meet that the task, the leadership believes that two people, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Chaudhry Manzoor, could be the best options under current circumstances. However, Chaudhry Manzoor is so far dubbed as the hottest candidate for the slot. After he relinquishes his assignment as the head of the party’s central secretariat in Punjab, the party leadership is likely to select him for the Punjab office, according to sources in the party. On the other hand, Kaira and Zaka Ashraf are already holding important offices and the party leadership is unlikely to give them any further task, says a party leader, on the condition of anonymity.Sources say, apart from the slot of the provincial president, a race is also going on among the aspirants from the slot of the general secretary, which is also likely to fall vacant after the appointment of the president. The slot of the general secretary is currently held by Sami Ullah Khan. Insiders in the party revealed that former PPP Lahore president Haji Aziz ur Rehman Chan, and now also a close relative of Sharifs, is also among the aspirants for the slot of the Punjab general secretary. Haji Aziz ur Rehman Chan led the PPP for more than five years in Lahore but could not manage to win the elections. Under his leadership, the party failed to win more than two National Assembly and two Provincial Assembly seats in Lahore. However, he has been a committed party member and also a ticket holder from NA-123. The party members believe that, like several other runners up of the last general election, he can be accommodated in the PPP Punjab chapter. Besides, the sources say that the name of Khalid Javed Ghurki, a former MNA and a close friend of President Zardari, is also under consideration for the slot. Ghurkis have a very strong home constituency in Lahore and they remained victorious against PML-N in 1993, 2002 and 2008 polls when ëNí had a clean sweep in the rest of the district. Khalid Ghurki, the husband of Federal Minister Samina Ghurki has also been the former president of Lahore in the second tenure of Benazir Bhutto from 1993-1996. Aslam Gill, one of the senior members of the party associated with the PPP for decades, is also among the aspirants for the slot of the general secretary. Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister for Information, while talking to The News said nominations were the prerogative of the party leadership and no decision had been taken in the regard.