LAHORE, Feb 19: A session of the Punjab Assembly is due to begin here on Thursday — more to facilitate the Senate candidates from various parties to approach their electors than to transact other business.
Assembly sources admit that a formal session of the legislature was not needed for the Senate election, and it could have been left to the contestants to bring the members to the House on the election day, Monday.
But as no party is certain that ‘voters’ will come on their own, a formal session has been called which will entitle every member to allowances worth Rs31,850.
The Senators from the Punjab will, under the Constitution, be elected by members of the provincial legislature.
The NWFP Assembly, where the election for the Senate will also be held concurrently, will not hold any formal session for the purpose.
The Punjab Assembly session is expected to continue for a week and members will get allowances for 13 days, including for three days before and after the session. It will cost the exchequer over Rs11.74 million, excluding the extra money the assembly staff will get in allowances or the money the government will have to spend on police deployment and other arrangements.
The allocation made by the Election Commission for the Senate election in the country’s biggest province has also not been included in the estimates.
The House is expected to hold a general discussion on irrigation on Thursday and agriculture on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be off days, and Monday is the day of the Senate elections. Agenda for the remaining two days will be made known subsequently. However, a legislation against the sale of cigarettes to the juveniles is also expected to be enacted during the session.
The ruling PML-Q estimates that at the national level, it will be able to get some 40 Senate seats. Its tally will go up to 54 if the score of its allied parties is also included. The remaining 46 seats will go to the PPP and other parties.
According to the PML-Q’s assessment, the PPP will get about 13 seats, while the PML-N will not be able to bag more than three seats. The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the National Alliance, according to the PML-Q estimates, will get 26, five and four seats, respectively. Of the remaining smaller parties, no one is expected to get more than a couple of seats.