Khan nominated him as PTI's candidate for the office of Chief Minister of Punjab. His nomination surprised many in the PTI and received criticism, as he was a relatively lesser known figure in Pakistan's political spectrum. According to Khan, he chose to support Buzdar because Buzdar hailed from an economically backwards area of Punjab, and was the only member of the Punjab Assembly who lacked electricity at his home. Other analysts claimed the selection was because Buzdar lacked an independent power base, and was thus totally reliant on Khan to hold on to his post. On 19 August 2018, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab. He received 186 votes against his opponent Hamza Shahbaz Sharif who secured 159 votes. He was sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab on 20 August 2018. Under his watch as the Chief Minister, five Inspector General of the Punjab police have been changed. Cabinet After assuming the office as the Chief Minister of Punjab, Buzdar held consultation with Imran Khan and formed a 23-member cabinet. The 23-member cabinet sworn in on 27 August 2018. The second part of his cabinet, consisting of 12 provincial ministers was sworn in on 13 September 2018 increasing the size of the cabinet to 35. Buzdar was falsely criticized for incompetent management during his tenure as chief minister. On 28 March 2022, Buzdar offered his resignation as Chief Minister of Punjab to Prime Minister Imran Khan to ease the political crises surrounding No-confidence motion against Imran Khan Buzdar had to be removed as the powerful Pakistan army wanted to install Aleem Khan as CM Punjab who was a notorious property tycoon. This cited as one potential reason for the Pakistan Army's loss of confidence in the PTI government more broadly, as the province is the main base of the Army's enlisted ranks. On 1 April 2022, his resignation was accepted by the Governor of Punjab, however he will continue to remain in office until the appointment of the new Chief Minister. On 30 April 2022, he left office of Chief Minister when Hamza Shahbaz took oath as newly elected chief minister. Controversies and scandals Following his nomination for the office of Chief Minister of Punjab in August 2018, reports had surfaced that a police case was registered against Buzdar and his father Sardar Fateh Muhammad Buzdar for their involvement in the murder of at-least six people