Despite in opposition, TLP and JI votes may go to PPP in Senate polls

The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the two smaller religious parties of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly having three and one seats in the legislature respectively have held their cards close to their chest as the two biggest political parties in the Sindh Assembly, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been approaching them to get their support in the upcoming Senate polls.

Although the TLP and JI lawmakers sit on the opposition benches in the Sindh Assembly, parties’ insiders and political analysts say there is a high chance that their votes will go to the ruling PPP because of their close working relations with the treasury benches and tense relations with the PTI in the provincial legislature.

In the last general elections, the TLP secured two seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi and the JI won a single seat from the city under the platform of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. Later, the TLP was awarded one more seat in the legislature on the reserved seats for women, making its total count three.

Both the religious parties have not announced any decision yet about which party they would be supporting in the Senate polls scheduled for March 3. The combined four votes of these parties can help any of the four major parties in the Sindh Assembly get an additional seat in the Senate.

On Saturday, the PPP sent two provincial ministers Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani to meet JI central deputy chief Asadullah Bhutto and Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman to garner the religious party’ support for its candidates in the Senate polls.

The JI leaders told the ministers that they would take a final decision in this regard after consultations with the party’s central leadership in Lahore.

Despite being in the opposition in Sindh, the TLP and JI are not part of the combined opposition of the three major parties in the legislature — the PTI, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), which are coalition partners in the federal government.

During the past 30 months of the Sindh Assembly, the two religious parties have mostly supported the PPP and opposed the three major opposition parties’ stance.

Abdul Jabbar Nasir, a Karachi-based senior parliamentary reporter, said the TLP and JI have been supporting the PPP since the provincial assembly was formed and their MPAs have been accommodated in various standing committees and on their requests, the Sindh government has also initiated development work in their constituencies.

In March 2019, the TLP and JI had openly opposed the demand of the PTI, MQM-P and GDA for making then opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi as the head of Sindh’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). In the same month, the JI’s sole MPA, Syed Abdul Rasheed, tabled a privilege motion against Naqvi for his alleged abusive remarks.

Interestingly, the TLP tried to field Yashaullah Khan Afghan, who was its candidate for NA-244 Karachi East in the last general elections, for a technocrat seat in the Senate from Sindh. However, the Election Commision of Pakistan on Thursday rejected his nomination papers.

Afghan and TLP spokesperson Muhammad Ali said the party has not yet taken any decision regarding the Senate elections.

“The TLP strictly follows the ideology of its founder Allama Khadim Hussain Razvi and does not believe in opportunistic politics,” Afghan told The News. “The TLP will only talk to the political parties which are near to its ideology.”