Amid a political standoff in Punjab, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Thursday that Chaudhry Parvez Elahi constitutionally was no longer the chief minister of the province after he skipped taking a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly yesterday.

“The governor’s order de-notifying Elahi as the chief minister is now just a formality,” the interior minister said speaking to the media in Lahore, adding that a notification would be issued as soon as the federal government received the governor’s order.

“If this constitutional decision is resisted and its implementation is stopped, the governor can write to the federal government,” Sanaullah said while explaining the legal course of action, adding that after the cabinet’s approval, the federal government could send his advice to the president to approve the imposition of governor’s rule in the province.

“The president is bound to follow the advice of the prime minister,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the reports suggested that PML-N’s legal experts advised the leadership not to de-notify the CM as the action will lead to Elahi getting relief from courts.

However, the moot did agree that the speaker’s ruling was unconstituional and the first step could be challenging it in the courts.

Sanaullah while talking to the journalist said that PTI’s letter to the president for replacing the governor had no legal grounds.

“If a cabinet session takes place it will have no legal standing as the chief minister failed to get a vote of confidence,” Sanaullah clarified and added that whenever the session of the Punjab Assembly took place, its main agenda would be to elect the chief minister.

Speaking about the PDM candidate for the CM slot, he said that the PML-N had not finalized any name for the slot.