LAHORE, Aug 28: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has identified about 50 constituencies of the National Assembly and some 100 of the provincial legislature in Punjab to field its candidates.

“We are confident of wining not less than 30 NA seats and some 70 in the provincial assembly to emerge as the third major political party in the province,” Punjab MQM organiser Amanullah Khan told Dawn on Tuesday.

He said the party had polled 14.8 per cent of the total cast votes in Oct 2002 elections, ahead of the PML-N and religious parties alliance.

A former PPP MPA, Mr Khan, referring to the feedback given by the party’s district organisers at a meeting here on Aug 26, said that southern and central Punjab districts had shown a great potential as far as keenness for the party tickets was concerned.

According to him, the MQM has an election alliance with the partners in the coalition — the ruling PML and the PPP (Patriots) — and the party will make seat adjustments with them in view of the situation now obtaining in the country. The number of MQM allies might rise if the government’s negotiations with Benazir succeeded, he said, and added that in such a scenario the MQM would ask the PPP to become part of the electoral alliance.

He says the ruling party and the Patriots have shown encouraging gestures for such an electoral arrangement and the MQM will soon enter into negotiations with them to finalise the list of its own candidates.

Mr Khan says district organisers have been given another three weeks to finalise their recommendations regarding the candidates for the review of the provincial body. He says the ultimate decision will be taken by the party’s central coordination committee which is scheduled to meet in London next month. “However going by the party’s democratic tradition, the recommendations by the district committees will be fully respected as party chief Altaf Husain never interfered in this regard in the past.”

According to him, the district organisers’ reports suggest that four to five persons, including women, have expressed their desire to be MQM candidates for each seat of national and provincial assemblies across the province and this shows that the party’s political appeal was intact despite odds.

However, the MQM will have to give in even on high-potential seats because of the electoral alliance, he says.

The party, he says, is focusing on five to six of the total 13 NA constituencies in Lahore and some 13 seats in the Punjab Assembly. The NA constituencies being eyed by the MQM include Shahdara, Santnagar, Garhi Shahu, Mustafabad, Green Town and Township areas.

Most of the candidates, so far, have come from Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, DG Khan and Multan districts, while Kasur and Sargodha may be counted in the list from central Punjab.