ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has convened a meeting of the PPP’s core committee on Monday to discuss the results of recent Senate polls and the unexpected loss of one seat from Punjab, sources in the presidency and the ruling party told Dawn on Sunday.

They said the party had decided to conduct an inquiry to identify the MPAs who had defied the leadership in the Senate polls in Punjab.The president has summoned MPAs from Punjab to investigate what he called horse-trading during the polls in the province.

A senior PPP leader said: “On the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari, a meeting of the PPP core committee will be held on Monday. It will be attended by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.”

Talking to Dawn, Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed that the PPP leadership would hold an inquiry to determine thereasons for the defeat of Mr Aslam Gill.

“We are against ‘lotacracy’ and it is clear that the PPP has no such arrangement with the Q-League or anybody else,” the minister told reporters at the National Press Club on Sunday.

He said it was a serious matter and the party was looking into the conduct of some MPAs who had defied the party line.

The minister admitted that such an inquiry would be difficult because the voting was held through secret ballot.

“This is not a large group. There are only a handful of MPAs ‘around five’ and I am sure we will resolve the matter,” Mr Malik said.

The PPP leadership in the Punjab Assembly have also asked the top leadership to hold an inquiry into the matter.

Mohsin Leghari, an MPA of Pakistan Muslim League (forward bloc) was elected despite inadequate numerical strength of his party in the assembly, defeating PPP candidate Aslam Gill.