PM names Sanjrani for Senate chairmanship

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday nominated the outgoing Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani for the coveted post again, who enjoys apparently good support in the opposition camp as well.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz announced this on his twitter and posted photographs of the PTI leaders’ meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan. All those in attendance appeared in a pleasant mood.

Some insiders in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf claim that the party fully respects the decision taken by the Chairman Imran Khan, but it may not have gone well with all and sundry, and also among the allied parties, particularly the Balochistan Awami Party, which has emerged as the second largest party in the PTI-led alliance in the Senate.

Again, on papers, Sanjrani will find it impossible to make his way to the top post in the House again without the support of some senators in the opposition parties, given the ruling coalition numerical strength i.e. 43 in comparison to the joint opposition’s 50 senators.

If one goes by the tendency of independent senators, majority of them have often gone with the treasury benches. Presently, four senators are independents, belonging to erstwhile tribal areas and the fifth one Abdul Qadir, got elected on March 03 from Balochistan. He was first awarded ticket by PTI and after protest by the party cadres, was withdrawn and then he joined BAP and ultimately ran for the Senate seat as an independent candidate.

For win on the day of his election, Sanjrani is required to secure 51 votes and in this case, each vote is crucially important and Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad’s vote will be a key. Though of late, JI and PTI have cooperated with one another and as per a mutual understanding, JI’s MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali did not cast his vote and so did their one MPA in SIndh Assembly, one can speculate that Mushtaq may vote for Sanjrani.

As for Pakistan Democratic Movement, they have yet to formally announce their candidate for the post of Senate chairman, though PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said a day earlier that Senator-elect Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani will be their candidate for this post.

It goes without saying that in terms of numbers, Gilani is set for a smooth sailing in the election of chairman Senate unless a decisive twist takes place in numerical parlance in the House.

The ruling coalition has hitherto not formally announced its candidate for the slot of deputy chairman and so is the case with the joint opposition or Pakistan Democratic Movement.

The 48 senators-elect will be administered oath on March 12 and the same day, the election of the chairman and deputy chairman will be conducted.

PML-N, which has now lost majority among the opposition parties in the House, following retirement of its 17 senators and this position has been taken over by PPP with 20 senators-elect and hence it enjoys the right of naming its nominee as leader of opposition in the House. However, since Gilani belongs to PPP and is most likely to be the joint opposition’s candidate for the post of chairman. Therefore, either PML-N or JUI-Fazl can have their nominee for the post of deputy chairman.

Incumbent leader of opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq is set to bow out on March 11 on completion of his term: he has not contested the March 03 Senate elections.