ISLAMABAD, Sept 14: The Pakistan Peoples’ Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) have failed to make seat-to-seat adjustment in any constituency across the country till the expiry of the last date of withdrawal of nomination papers on Saturday.

The two arch political foes, now hand in glove with each other against the military government, at a recent meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy had evolved a formula to accommodate each other’s candidates but till to-date found it hard to implement.

The last date of withdrawal of nomination papers passed with no candidate from either side coming forward to withdraw from the contest.

The formula evolved by the leaders of the two parties at the ARD meeting envisaged that no party would field candidate in the constituencies from where head of any component party was contesting the elections.

Similarly, the office-bearers of the alliance were to be shown the same respect, and component parties would have withdrawn their candidates against them, a source said.

The rejection of nomination papers of key leaders of both the PML(N) and PPP has come as a divine help for the candidates of component parties running from these constituencies. PPP acting secretary general Mian Raza Rabbani said the negotiations between the two parties were still going on and hoped that they would reach some understanding.

Jehangir Badr, PPP Secretary General, is contesting elections from his home constituency NA-119 against PML(N) President Shahbaz Sharif.

Badr would have been the first casualty of the PPP-PML seat-to-seat adjustment had the election tribunal not rejected Shahbaz’s candidature.

“The ball is in PPP court,” said Syed Zafar Ali Shah, who is also ARD Information Secretary. Being a central office-bearer of the alliance, Shah is looking forward for withdrawal of PPP candidate from NA-55, where he is pitched against Shiekh Rashid Ahmed.

Shah said they had held a number of meetings but nothing could yet be materialised.

The option of retirement from the contest, he said, is still open. Under the election laws, after the last date of withdrawal the candidates can retire from the election contest till the polling date.

The PPP, under the agreement, was also supposed to withdraw its candidate Chaudhry Zamurad from NA-56 from where Raja Zafarul Haque, the PML(N) Chairman has filed his nomination papers.

Till Saturday afternoon, the PML(N) Central Secretariat had no clue whether the PPP candidate from NA-56 had withdrawn his nomination papers. A local PPP leader said the multiple contest was in their favour and had significantly improved the prospects of the PPP candidates winning the elections.