The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) have agreed in principle to field joint candidates in the next general elections in Punjab, Daily Times learnt.
Well-placed sources in both parties confirmed that an understanding had been reached between both the coalition partners to field joint candidates at all 297 constituencies in Punjab in the next general elections.
The sources informed that both parties agreed on a joint election formula, allowing both the parties to give the party tickets to their winning candidates in the Punjab Assembly and the coalition party would be bound not to issue party tickets to their candidate in any case.
Furthermore, both the parties have decided to issue the party ticket to the candidates who had lost the elections to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), but had emerged as the closest contesters, sources added.
Sources said that President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also Co-Chairperson of the PPP, had formed a team led by the member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) and former finance minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira to negotiate with the PML-Q leadership at provincial level for reaching an undisputed and logical joint election formula, which should be acceptable to both the parties as well as their candidates without any objection.
The PPP had won 85 seats of the Punjab Assembly in the previous general elections and the PML-Q succeeded in 62 constituencies in the province while the PML-N obtained 138 seats in the province. There are 32 members of the PML-N, 21 of the PPP and only 18 of the PML-Q on the reserved seats of women and minorities, so the total strength of the PML-N representatives is 170, PPP’s 106 and PML-Q’s 80 in the Punjab Assembly.
Following the joint election formula of the PPP and PML-Q, candidates of both the political parties will contest directly on their winning seats while the party ticket will be given to the runner up candidate of any party and the other party will support him, the sources said.
Both, PPP and PML-Q would not only directly challenge the candidates of the PML-N in Punjab at their home ground (winning constituencies) but there are chances of them taking some extra seats in the province to form their next coalition government in the province by the reason of their joint vote bank which must be multiplied after their support to each other’s candidates, the sources maintained.
The sources said that the PML-N had some political edge over the other parties in cities but had a limited vote bank in the rural areas of Punjab where the PML-Q and the PPP had majority votes.
Both coalition partners, especially the PPP, would also support the demand for the southern Punjab as a separate province.
On the issue of distribution of the seats of the dissident group of the PML-Q, the Unification Bloc, the PML-Q would have a principle right to field its candidates at the respective seats but both the valuable contester of the other party could also be considered there.
Around 40 members of the PML-Q while differing with their mother party, the PML-Q, have established the Unification Bloc led by Atta Manika and Dr Tahir Ali Javed in the Punjab Assembly and given support to the PML-N in the House after the promise from Sharif brothers, especially Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to give them the PML-N tickets in the next general elections.
Well-placed sources in both parties confirmed that an understanding had been reached between both the coalition partners to field joint candidates at all 297 constituencies in Punjab in the next general elections.
The sources informed that both parties agreed on a joint election formula, allowing both the parties to give the party tickets to their winning candidates in the Punjab Assembly and the coalition party would be bound not to issue party tickets to their candidate in any case.
Furthermore, both the parties have decided to issue the party ticket to the candidates who had lost the elections to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), but had emerged as the closest contesters, sources added.
Sources said that President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also Co-Chairperson of the PPP, had formed a team led by the member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) and former finance minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira to negotiate with the PML-Q leadership at provincial level for reaching an undisputed and logical joint election formula, which should be acceptable to both the parties as well as their candidates without any objection.
The PPP had won 85 seats of the Punjab Assembly in the previous general elections and the PML-Q succeeded in 62 constituencies in the province while the PML-N obtained 138 seats in the province. There are 32 members of the PML-N, 21 of the PPP and only 18 of the PML-Q on the reserved seats of women and minorities, so the total strength of the PML-N representatives is 170, PPP’s 106 and PML-Q’s 80 in the Punjab Assembly.
Following the joint election formula of the PPP and PML-Q, candidates of both the political parties will contest directly on their winning seats while the party ticket will be given to the runner up candidate of any party and the other party will support him, the sources said.
Both, PPP and PML-Q would not only directly challenge the candidates of the PML-N in Punjab at their home ground (winning constituencies) but there are chances of them taking some extra seats in the province to form their next coalition government in the province by the reason of their joint vote bank which must be multiplied after their support to each other’s candidates, the sources maintained.
The sources said that the PML-N had some political edge over the other parties in cities but had a limited vote bank in the rural areas of Punjab where the PML-Q and the PPP had majority votes.
Both coalition partners, especially the PPP, would also support the demand for the southern Punjab as a separate province.
On the issue of distribution of the seats of the dissident group of the PML-Q, the Unification Bloc, the PML-Q would have a principle right to field its candidates at the respective seats but both the valuable contester of the other party could also be considered there.
Around 40 members of the PML-Q while differing with their mother party, the PML-Q, have established the Unification Bloc led by Atta Manika and Dr Tahir Ali Javed in the Punjab Assembly and given support to the PML-N in the House after the promise from Sharif brothers, especially Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to give them the PML-N tickets in the next general elections.
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