Senate campaign intensifies on penultimate day

Prime Minister Imran Khan and federal ministers on Monday spent a busy day in parliament in an effort to muster support for the PTI candidates from the federal capital. On the other hand, reliable sources privy to the matter told The Express Tribune that PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zadari has approached Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, MNA from Mirpurkhas, who won the NA-218 seat in 2018 election as an independent candidate defeating the PPP and PTI candidates. Shah once a senior PPP stalwart had left the party over differences with the PPP leadership, contested independently and bagged the seat. Bilawal along with Gilani visited him in Islamabad and requested his vote. Shah assured the PPP leader of his vote. An interesting one-on-one contest between PDM candidate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is expected on the only general seat from the capital. Dr Shaikh, who is presently serving in the cabinet of Imran Khan as finance minister, had previously served in the same position when Mr Gilani was the prime minister. The competition between Gilani and Shaikh has acquired great significance because of the party position in the National Assembly where the ruling alliance has a majority of just 20 votes. Later, Shaikh claimed achieving a historic victory in the Senate elections on March 3. Addressing a news conference along with the leaders of coalition parties, including Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the  minister said all the coalition parties wanted to put the country on right direction and that was why were united. "The MQM-P, GDA, BAP and PML-Q - we all are standing with each other," he added. The people wanted that their leadership should be honest and they found the PTI most suitable, he said. Back in parliament, the prime minister and the ruling PTI leadership turned to lawmakers, especially the backbenchers of the National Assembly, to get their support just before the Senate elections scheduled for tomorrow {Wednesday]. The premier, who remains conspicuous by his absence from parliament, suspended most of his routine activities and spent the entire day in the lower house, holding meetings with disgruntled members of the ruling party and coalition partners. Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who is the ruling coalition’s candidate for the Senate seat in Islamabad, was also seen meeting with MNAs throughout the day order to get their vote and support for the March 3 elections. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as well as several other stalwarts of the ruling party – including Defense Minister Pervez Khattak and PTI’s Chief Whip Amir Dogar – also went to the seats of various lawmakers and inquired about “their wellbeing”. Throughout the session, most of the government members were seen huddling together with Shaikh walking from one row to another and chatting with those who usually do not get any attention. One of the backbenchers even raised the slogan “Hafeez Shaikh, Zindabad” while others were seen assuring their full support to the incumbent finance minister who will face the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) joint candidate, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani. Throughout the day, the details of the PM and PTI leadership’s meetings with the party members were continually shared by the PM Office. It is expected that there will be no cabinet meeting and the PM will continue holding meetings with lawmakers at the parliament when they come to attend NA session on Tuesday. Shaikh after holding meetings with PTI’s coalition partners held a press conference in which leaders of the PML-Q, the MQM-P and the GDA expressed solidarity with Shaikh. During the press briefing, MQM’s Aminul Haq accused the PPP led Sindh government of threatening their provincial lawmakers as well as trying to buy their votes. He, however, claimed that all 21 MQM members in the Sindh Assembly stand united with the PTI and Shaikh. GDA’s Fahmida Mirza declared that the Senate elections are crucial for enacting legislation. She defended the PTI for relying on ordinances, saying the option of ordinance is used when the ruling party can’t pass bills from both the houses of the parliament. Favoring proportional representation system for the Senate elections, she wished to see candidates being elected unopposed in other provinces just like Punjab. PML-Q’s Tariq Bashir Cheema also assured his party’s full support for Shaikh, saying all the coalition partners are with PTI. Shaikh, while answering a question, said his family is in politics and serving the public for the last 70 years. He said he has remained in the Senate thrice and hopes to be re-elected once again. The finance minister claimed that March 3 would be a historic day. “The PTI would win as people want honest leadership in the country,” he added. Despite all these efforts, lawmakers from ruling parties are reportedly still not convinced to vote in favour of Shaikh as two PTI members from the Sindh Assembly announced that they will not vote for their party's candidates, alleging that "a few candidates were given tickets only in exchange of money". MNA Amir Liaquat Hussain had also announced that he would not cast his vote in favour of Shaikh. Sanjrani’s offer to PDM Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has offered four Senate seats to the leaders of the PDM for ensuring unopposed Senate elections in Balochistan. Sanjrani, who is in Quetta these days, is making efforts to muster support for candidates of the ruling BAP and its allies. On Monday, he had a meeting with the JUI-F secretary general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and some other opposition leaders. Sources said Sanjrani told the PDM leaders that the government is ready to give two generals seats and a technocratic and a woman seat to them. Abdul Ghafoor Haideri confirmed the development but said the PDM has rejected the offer. "We have asked them to give 50 percent Senate seats to the opposition. Only then we can talk about holding an unopposed Senate election in Balochistan," he said. BNP-M’s Sardar Akhtar Mengal, JUI-F’s Haideri and PkMAP’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai while speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting on Monday evening demanded that the government offer them 6 out of the 12 Senate seats up for grabs in the province. If the government is ready to offer 6 out of 12 Senate seats then the opposition is ready for an unopposed election of the Senate in Balochistan. The PDM can win 5 Senate seats on March 3 and we are making efforts to get even more seats, they said. With additional input from Mohammad Zafar in Quetta and APP

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