KARACHI, Aug 1: The Pakistan People’s Party leadership has decided to give the governing ruling coalition a good run for their money by fielding candidates in all the national assembly and provincial assembly seats in the city, it emerged on Wednesday.
However, sources told Dawn that the PPP, whose chairperson recently flew into Abu Dhabi to hold talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf on a power-sharing deal, did not rule out seat adjustments with “like-minded parties in certain cases”.
They added that the PPP central command was in the process of preparing a final list of candidates which would be shortly announced.
It is learnt that many prominent figures are expected to win a party ticket. The sources said that the party would field the old guard on the seats traditionally held by the PPP.
In Lyari, the ticket for NA-248 may go to the sitting MNA Sardar Nabil Gabol and in Malir, for NA-258, MNA Sher Mohammad Baloch is a likely candidate.
Prof N.D. Khan, Raja Razak and Sulaiman Murad are also seeking party tickets for other seats.
For NA-257, the party is very likely to award a ticket to Saeed Ghani, currently Leader of the Opposition in the City Council who leads the PPP-backed Awam Dost group in the house.
For the provincial assembly seats, sitting MPAs Rafique Engineer and Salim Hingoro are expected to win party tickets.
In Keamari Town, where the party enjoys considerable support of the fishermen community, prominent party figures including Iftikhar Husain, Rashid Rabbani, Muzaffar Ali Shujra, Nafees Siddiqui and Qadir Patel have sought a ticket for the NA-239 constituency.
For NA-249, which covers the old city areas like Kharadar and Mithadar as well as some parts of Lyari, Habib Memon, Yusuf Baloch and Arif Mithani have sought a party ticket. Both the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement lay claim to a big vote bank in this constituency comprising a diverse political and ethnic population.
Abdullah Baloch, a former provincial minister, is also likely to get a ticket for NA-240, comprising Shershah, Pak Colony, Rexer Lane, Mianwali Colony and parts of Baldia. Mr Jamshed Ahmed has also applied for a ticket to contest the seat.