PDM component parties fail to reach electoral alliance

PESHAWAR: The parties which were once part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement have failed to reach any formal electoral alliance of some kind of seat-to-seat adjustment for the upcoming general elections.

All the political forces, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) had earlier expressed the wish and made efforts to make an electoral alliance or at least go for some seat-to-seat adjustment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to counter the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Several meetings and delegations’ exchanges had been made for the purpose. All the political parties’ leaders had visited each other’s offices, especially the provincial headquarters of the JUIF and expressed the resolve to make adjustments for the next general elections.

According to JUIF spokesman Abdul Jalil Jan, they had authorized the local organisations of respective parties to evaluate the local conditions and make adjustments at the local level. However, all the parties were interested in getting the lion’s share at every level, which impeded any formal alliance or even informal adjustments among them.

In most of the cases, the candidates of various parties were reluctant to withdraw their candidatures, which is why the electoral alliance (s) could not be made possible, he said. He said that except for Shangla, the home district of PMLN’s provincial chief Engineer Amir Muqam, the JUIF could not make any adjustment with any party.

In Shangle, he said, JUIF would field a candidate on one of the two provincial assembly seats with the support of the PMLN and in return it would support PMLN on the seats - one each for the national and provincial assemblies.

PMLN Information Secretary Ikhtiar Wali Khan said the JUIF was demanding maximum seats in Punjab due to which adjustment could not be made with it.He said that the ANP candidates in most of the areas were not ready to withdraw candidatures in case of any such adjustment.

Therefore, electoral adjustments could not be made, he argued. A PPP office-bearer told The News that they made every effort to have some adjustments in the province with the other political parties, especially the JUIF. But all of them were considering themselves more popular and were not willing for the adjustments. He said that PPP was a popular political party and it would make substantial performance in the general elections.

The Jamaat-e-Islami has already announced to have a solo flight in the elections. Perhaps it is the only party in the province that has launched an election campaign. The remaining ones were waiting for the situation to become clearer.

The Supreme Court’s decision about the election symbol of PTI made it easier for them to set their directions about the elections. Before the decision, they were interested in making adjustments for the elections as they considered PTI as a rival to all of them.

With the loss of its election symbol by the PTI, the political forces started believing PTI no more a threat and thus they preferred to contest the polls individually instead of a combined platform, political observers argue.