LAHORE, Dec 15: The Pakistan Muslim League of Chaudhry Shujaat Husain estimates that the party would win about 150 National Assembly seats in the elections and be able to form government at the centre with the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and other allies.

Party sources say that the PML-Q is confident of securing a comfortable majority to form its government in Punjab. However, new coalitions in Sindh and the NWFP are expected to be led by the PPP and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, according to the party’s projections.

According to them, the Balochistan government will be a coalition of several parties in which the PML-Q and the JUI-F will play a lead role.

Determined to keep the PPP out of power at all cost, the PML is willing to include the JUI-F in the coalition.

The party has estimated that it will bag between 110 and 120 NA seats from Punjab alone, mainly in the province’s rural areas. In major cities, the party’s think-tank believes, the PML-N is expected to perform better than it did in the 2002 elections.

Some NA seats in rural areas of Punjab may be won by the PPP because of the change in the situation, the PML sources say.

The PML thinks that in all, the PPP may get between 60 and 70 NA seats.

As for the PML-N, sources belonging to the PML-Q say it will not be able to secure more than 35 NA seats.

There are conflicting views about who would benefit by some APDM parties’ decision to boycott the elections.

Both major factions of the PML claim that the Jamaat supporters would vote for them.