PPP candidates remain uncertain about the precise mechanics of the seat adjustment arrangement recently agreed upon with the PML-N, the Punjab chapter of the party has revealed.
On August 23, PPP Central Punjab president and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, PPP General Secretary and former Senate chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, along with PML-N leaders Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazl Chaudhary, jointly announced a seat adjustment formula, first employed during their opposition days.
Under the formula, the "runners-up" in a constituency would have the right to field candidates.
However, PPP, based on its own interpretation, has also included seats where no official PML-N candidate stood between its candidate and the winner, regardless of its own performance in those constituencies.
According to the PPP's Central Punjab chapter, the party had been eyeing NA-143 Sahiwal, NA-175 Muzaffargarh and NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan. He explained that wherever a PPP candidate secured more votes than a bona fide PML-N candidate, the party's candidates should retain the right to field their candidate in the upcoming polls, regardless of poll position.
It is worth noting that in NA-185, DG Khan, the PML-N candidate ran as an independent and secured second place, while the PPP's Dost Muhammad Khosa came in third. In Sahiwal, the seat was left open for the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), with its candidate, Nouman Ahmad Langrial, finishing third. The PML-N-backed independent candidate placed second and the PPP landed in fifth place.
Multiple PPP leaders, while speaking to The Express Tribune, admitted they were unsure whether they would be allotted any seats other than Muzaffargarh, which itself was not even up for grabs at the moment.
One leader said real campaigning would only begin once the party was assured of seats worth contesting. "Other than Dost Muhammad Khosa in DG Khan, no one else would even consider doing a half-hearted campaign," he said.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, PPP General Secretary Nayyar Hussain Bukhari confirmed that the formula had been agreed "in principle". Asked to clarify what it entailed, he said, "Runners-up will field their candidate."
When pressed on whether this meant that seats where PPP came third or fourth would be excluded — despite Punjab PPP's interpretation that where no PML-N candidate stood above PPP's candidate, they had a right to field -— he explained that even in the said seats where the PML-N candidate was not between the winning candidate and ours, we should get the right.
When asked about the PML-N's rejection of this interpretation, Bukhari said, "We are partners, and will discuss at the Punjab-level meeting". Regarding the timing of that meeting, he added he was not aware of any exact date, but said the meeting would take place soon.
Asked why the party had opted out of direct contestation in Punjab, especially as many in the party believed PTI's absence offered a golden opportunity to win back lost ground, he said contesting against coalition partners was unthinkable.
"How can we possibly contest elections against our allies?" the senior leader said. "It was thought best to keep the coalition spirit alive and revert to the runners-up formula agreed in opposition days."
When reminded that the PPP and PML-N had earlier fielded separate candidates in Sialkot PP-52, he replied that one should learn from their mistakes. He also cautioned against writing off PTI entirely, adding that PTI cannot be considered out of the race just yet, as it might re-enter the ring as independents.
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