Political manoeuvring : Seat adjustment a thorny issue

PML-N might have to make alliances with the IPP and the PML-Q

LAHORE:

Now that the timeline for scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming general election is over, political parties will finally start campaigning and the focus, like always, will be on Punjab, as winning a majority of the province’s seats is a sure shot to forming a government in the centre. Nevertheless, despite the year being one of changing political fortunes, no political party is particularly sure of how the general election will play out.

Although, with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) presently facing the aftermath of the May 9th incidents, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and this year’s new political entrant, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), are in relatively better shape to campaign freely in the country’s electoral jewel of a province. However, thorny issues like electoral alliances, with the possibility of seat adjustments, have not been decided as of yet, and political observers predict that this process of negotiations between election hopefuls will be tackled in the first month of the new year. In Punjab, the IPP and the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q), might be electoral allies of the PML-N, which has its sights set on getting its supremo, Mian Nawaz Sharif, to the Prime Minister House for a record 4th time. To achieve this feat, the PML-N will need support and thus will have to make some concessions to the IPP and the PML-Q.

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The IPP has so far demanded seat adjustment on 20 of Punjab’s seats in the National Assembly and some 40 seats in the provincial assembly. However, the PML-N’s counter offer has been an adjustment on 2 National Assembly seats and 5 Punjab Assembly seats. Similarly, the PML-Q, which supported Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s stint as prime minister, is looking for an adjustment on 5 National Assembly seats and 5 provincial assembly seats. Whereas, the PML-N seems ready for an adjustment on only 3 National Assembly and 4 Punjab Assembly seats. Be that as it may, the PML-N’s General Secretary for Lahore, Khawaja Imran Nazir feels that alliances or not, the party’s Quaid will be the Prime Minister in 2024.

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“The return of Mian Nawaz Sharif has invigorated the party and we will surprise our doubters on February 8th,” asserted Nazir. On the other hand, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, a central leader of the IPP, has cautioned against not taking the party seriously. “Our party has not only identified the problems of the people but also suggested solutions. Our election manifesto is the voice of the common man's heart,” remarked Siddiqui, hinting at the fact that an alliance with the IPP was a necessity for the PML-N. While the PML-N and the IPP will soon choose between sorting out their differences or stepping into the electoral field alone, both parties seem to have ignored the PTI’s significant vote bank in Punjab. A key reason for that being the PTI’s fall out with the powers that be and the party’s representatives either jumping ship or quitting politics altogether, which has led the party to cry foul. In this regard, former president of PTI Lahore, Sheikh Imtiaz, was of the view that an election without PTI had no legitimacy.

“Our party has been broken apart and not been given a level playing field. However, the common man’s support is still with us and come election day the PTI will surprise everyone,” assured Imtiaz while talking to The Express Tribune.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2024