MMA focuses on provincial assembly seats rather than NA

ISLAMABAD: After the process of allotment of tickets the reactivated Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal appears to be more confident than ever to win majority seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly than its main rival PTI.

A close look on the distribution of seats between two major components JUI-F and Jamaat Islami suggest that the main focus of the both is on provincial than the National Assembly seats.

The reason is that MMA despite its tall claims is not going to achieve any good in other two bigger provinces of Punjab and Sindh with the JUI-F only expecting few seats from Balochistan.

A source privy to the process of MMA allotment of tickets said MMA President Maulana Fazlur Rehman has made it sure that his other partner JI is accommodated maximum so that the alliance lasts for at least next five years.

The formula of allotment of tickets was designed in such a way that no party trespasses its limits to create any fatal differences.

The two parties agreed that the seats won by them in 2013 polls will be retained by them while from the remaining fifty percent each would be distributed.

This meant that JUI-F got tickets on 17 provincial seats that it had won in previous polls whereas 7 tickets were allotted to the JI thereby JUI-F holding an upper hand in overall distribution of seats.

This convergence of policy between the two parties has brightened their chances of winning majority seats in the House to enable a JUI-F led provincial government.

The fissures in JI over some of tickets allotted to JUI-F candidates that also resulted in few desertions in JI, the process of reconciliation and withdrawal by few has also been achieved and the alliance hopes most of the issues may be resolved by the last date of withdrawal.

On the other hand main contender of the provincial assembly majority PTI is sharply divided on allotment of tickets at many places. Parvaiz Khattak group has taken advantage to name more of its favourites with Jahangir Tareen group also winning the parliamentary board’s nod. Even Imran Khan intervened to get his favourite former party provincial president Asad Qaiser by allotting two national and one provincial assembly tickets.

As a result party’s old workers have filed their nomination papers as independent candidates while a number of others have even left the party to get other parties tickets.