KARACHI: With elections for 50 seats of the senate less than two weeks away — polling is scheduled for March 6 — the ruling coalition is in a bit of a mess due to an internal power struggle, particularly the PML.

Party tickets for the Senate seats from Sindh were awarded by the parliamentary board of the PML-Q headed by its president, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and had the blessings of President Gen Pervez Musharraf as de facto chief of the party, yet the exercise appears to have caused considerable heart burning, with the chief minister, who heads the Sindh chapter of the party, caught in the crossfire.

The total strength of the ruling PML is 59, including PML-F, PPP-Patriots and independents, but this strength stands divided in three major factions led by Dr Arbab Rahim, Water Vision of Gen Musharraf led by Mahars and Shaikh group led by Imtiaz Shaikh. It would be no less than a miracle if the party can get through its candidates — Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Kishanchand Pawani (general seats), Ms Seemeen Siddiqui (women’s) and Syed Mehmood Hashmi (technocrat).

It seems as if no one other than Gen Musharraf can play a role in overcoming mutual differences and prevent the possibility of party MPAs casting their votes for other than those officially given party tickets.

In the electoral college of 168, which is eligible to elect candidates for seven general, two women and two technocrat seats, the ruling coalition has 101 votes, including the solid group of 42 Haq Parast MPAs.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has fielded two of its candidates against general seats, three for the women’s seats and two against the technocrat seats. According to analysts, the MQM as a homogeneous party will be able to get back four of its Senate seats which are due to be vacated on March 11 after the completion of three years, and could succeed in winning one more seat from the technocrats’ quota by manoeuvring with ruling coalition partners.

The MQM candidates are Ahmad Ali and Col (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi for the general seat, Ms Abida Saif and Ms Nighat Mirza Hina for the women’s seats and Muhammad Saeed Siddiqui and Prof Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada for the technocrat seats.

The PML-Q led ruling coalition was 98 strong, including the MQM, on the eve of last Senate elections held in Feb 2003. It had won 14 of the total of 22 seats from Sindh whereas eight went to the joint opposition led by the PPP, including one seat for the MMA. This seat was later lost in favour of the MQM in the by-election that followed the death of MMA chief Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani.

An independent candidate, Aleem Adil Shaikh, who is chief of the youth wing of the PML-Q, claims support of the two groups opposing Dr Arbab Rahim.

The opposition MMA, which has only eight members in the Sindh assembly, was caught on the wrong foot when nomination papers of its candidate Owais Siddiqui, son of Maulana Noorani, were rejected by the Election Commission on the basis that the degree submitted by him was issued by a madressah not on the list of 10 recognized seminaries.

Its other candidate is Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, but the MMA leadership appears to be uncommitted so far.

The Pakistan People’s Party, which has fielded Mian Raza Rabbani and Dr Safdar Ali Abbasi for the general seats, Dr Javaid Laghari for technocrats’ and Ms Ratna Chawla for the women’s seats, could easily win provided each one of its MPAs votes for the nominated candidates. The party has a history of wavering votes which could upset its whole apple cart.