ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been gearing up its efforts to bag a maximum number of seats in the upcoming Senate elections from Sindh and Balochistan with help of likeminded political forces and independent candidates as well, it was learnt.
Leaving no stone unturned to convince and win the confidence of various political forces and independent candidates, PPP under the leadership of former president Asif Ali Zardari is supposedly eyeing a maximum of 27 Senate seats with the help of like-minded forces.
To meet the target, the party is in the process of finalising a strategy to win maximum seats in Sindh, Balochistan and FATA in the Senate elections.
According to PPP sources, party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is in contact with JUI-F, ANP, QWP and PML-Q to consolidate support for the Senate elections. They said that PPP will surprise everyone in the upcoming Senate race by securing a maximum number of seats.
“PPP will give surprising results in as it is set to win maximum seats through political manoeuvring and with the political vision of party co-chairman,” said sources.
The sources said that PPP is likely to support PML-Q in Punjab while PML-Q in return is expected to support PPP in Balochistan, where it is eyeing to win five to six seats. From Sindh, PPP has devised a strategy to win 12 to 14 Senate seats and is also actively aiming to win four seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one or two seats from FATA and Islamabad.
Sources further said that PPP will support the independent candidates of Balochistan and FATA.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan People’s Party has so far nominated 12 candidates to participate in the Senate elections from Sindh. From KP, Rubina Khalid and Behar Mand Tungi have been nominated whereas no candidate has so far been nominated from Punjab, Islamabad, and FATA.
The party is expected to finalise the names for Senate seats of Islamabad, Punjab and FATA after February 19 as the aspirants are at liberty to withdraw their nomination papers until that date.
The Senate comprises 104 members — 23 each from the four federating units, eight from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), and four from Islamabad. The 23 seats allocated to a province comprise 14 general seats, four reserved for women, four for technocrats and one for minority member.
Of the 104-member House, 52 are set to retire on March 11 while polling for the same will be held on March 3.
According to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), four senators will be elected on general seats from FATA, 11 from KP and Balochistan each, and 12 each from Sindh and Punjab – including seven on general seats, two on technocrat seats, two on women’s seats and one on a minorities’ seat.
Islamabad too will elect two senators on general and technocrat seats.
It is worth mentioning that since senators are elected through a secret ballot, the chances of horse-trading always remain high during the Senate elections. PPP, being the majority party presently with 26 senators, is set to lose 18 senators on March 11.
However, a fall of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led provincial government of Balochistan has paved way for PPP to grab the support of independent candidates of the province, who, after winning the Senate elections, are likely to join PPP.
