Pakistan

Gearing up for battle: Politicking in full swing for Senate elections

Provincial capital has turned into a hub for the political activities

KHALID RASHEED February 06, 2021

LAHORE:

Ahead of the Senate elections, the preparations in Punjab are in full swing after the opposition rescinded its decision to boycott the polls.

Lahore has turned into a hub for the political activities as the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has started approaching its allies PML-Q, Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party and independent members.

The opposition is also reaching out to its allies to mull over a strategy for the elections. The Senate elections are scheduled to be held in March, setting off a flurry of activity in Punjab these days.

Until recently, Punjab was considered the stronghold of the PML-N, but this time leaders from other political parties are expected to camp in the provincial capital till the completion of the election process.

The PPP, Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party and the independents will not be able to field their candidates for the Senate elections from Punjab, while the mainstream parties such as the PTI, PML-N and PML-Q will field their candidates.

The PML-N will nominate its candidates in the elections with 164 members and the PML-Q with 10 members in Punjab Assembly. The PPP has seven votes, independents have four votes and the RHP has one vote.

In Punjab, the elections will be held for a total of 11 seats, including seven general seats. Two of the seats would be reserved for women and two seats will be reserved for technocrats. The ruling PTI is expected to bag four general seats and the PML- N is expected to win three general seats.

The two seats reserved for women would be equally divided by the ruling party and the PML-N, while the same formula would be applied for the technocrat seat.

In the past, Mohsin Khan Leghari had won a Senate seat as an independent candidate. Leghari had acquired more votes in the second priority. Apparently, the Senate battle is primarily between the PTI and PML-N, but the PML-Q can influence the contest.

Taking note of the crucial role of the PML-Q, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar have approached Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

Interestingly, nearly six to eight disgruntled members of the PML-N also seem to be standing with the government this time. Considering these statistics, the ruling party can easily win more seats.

The largest opposition party, the PML-N, has 165 seats and if the PPP also announces its support for it, the PML-N will be at the second spot during the Senate elections. Punjab is considered a political stronghold for the PML-N due to its high number of members in the Punjab Assembly.

It is for this reason that the PML-N candidates from the other provinces have also turned to the Punjab Assembly to try luck for the Senate seat.

The PML-N candidates eyeing the seat in the Senate include former governor of Sindh Muhammad Zubair, Miftah Ismail, Shah Muhammad Shah and Nihal Hashmi, while Raja Zafarul Haq, Pervez Rashid, Mushahidullah Khan, Mushahid Hussain Syed and others are running for the polls.

Sources within the PML-N also maintain that the party needs to decide whether to present the candidates from the “Nawaz Sharif group” or the “Shahbaz Sharif group”.

According to sources, the final decision in this regard would be taken by Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz. On the other hand, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi wants to win one Senate seat for his party, but the PML-Q has only 10 seats in Punjab Assembly.

He has also nominated Kamil Ali Agha as the party’s Senate candidate. Springing into action, Punjab CM Buzdar has also started holding meetings with the leadership of the PML-Q, Rah-e-Haq Party and independent candidates.

The PML-N would summon a meeting of the parliamentary party members soon to devise a strategy. The party would then apprise its members regarding the priority of votes in the polls.

It is pertinent to mention that more than 65% of the Senators are set to retire after completing their six-year constitutional term on March 11, 2021.

These Senators primarily belong to the opposition parties. 52 out of the current 103 members of the Senate are retiring in March.

Out of these 52 lawmakers, 34 belong to the opposition parties while 18 belong to the government benches. Commenting on the upcoming Senate elections, Punjab Government Spokesman Musarrat Jamshed Cheema said that the current statistics of the House clearly indicate a guaranteed success for the PTI.

The official said the ruling party is in the favour of reforms to make the senate elections as fair and transparent.

“Initially, an open ballot was suggested to ensure transparency in the Senate polls.”

On the other hand, PML-N Punjab Information Secretary Uzma Bukhari said that the preliminary preparations have begun, but the party has not yet invited formal applications from the candidates.

“As soon as the schedule is announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the party will also start formal preparations. As per the statistics of the House, the PML-N may safely have three general, one woman and one technocrat seat in the Senate.”