ISLAMABAD Jan 4: Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari is likely to be a candidate for the Lahore National Assembly seat vacated by Pakistan Awami Tehrik chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

Mr Zardari has already announced that he will set up his secretariat in Lahore to reorganize the party in Punjab after his release from jail last month. The second largest ARD component, PML (Nawaz group), is also eying the Lahore seat to maintain its grip on the Punjab capital. It won most of the seats from Lahore in 2002 polls.

ARD's Secretary General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said that the issue of the NA seat had been discussed in the alliance's meeting in Sukkur and it had been decided that a consensus candidate would be fielded.

He, however, denied that Mr Zardari's name had been proposed at any stage in the meeting or at any other forum. He expressed the confidence that the ARD component parties would resolve the matter amicably through consultations when the election schedule was announced.

The intensity of the desire to bag the NA seat by the PML-N could easily be gauged from claims made by its leadership that the party stood a better chance to win the seat in the light of its strong grip over the provincial capital.

The source said that if the PPP Parliamentarians insisted on Asif Ali Zardari's candidature it could lead to a serious tussle between the two parties. The election commission is expected to announce schedule for the by-elections within a week.

"Although Mr Zardari's name has not been officially announced it has been in discussion within the party ranks," a senior PPP leader said. The source said that the matter might be discussed soon within the party and also in the ARD after the announcement of the election schedule.