LAHORE - Unsure of their political future at the moment, Begum Abida Hussain and her spouse Fakhar Imam have decided to adopt ‘wait-and-see’ policy till the advent of caretaker setup in the country while keeping the option of quitting the party open at some later stage.
This important political couple belonging to the PPP has  fallen victim to the seat adjustment formula agreed between the PPP and the PML-Q, according to which the winner and runner-up of the last election would be the joint candidate.
The couple lost to PML-Q candidates in 2008 elections, and now, they don’t ‘qualify’ to contest the next elections as per the understanding reached between the two allies. Begum Abida was defeated by Faisal Saleh Hayat from Jhang whereas her husband faced defeat at the hands of another PML-Q heavyweight Raza Hayat Hiraj from Khanewal. “Our first priority is to contest the coming elections from PPP platform. But if the party did not grant us the tickets, then the option of contesting as independent candidates and that of joining some other party would be open to us,” the couple told a group of journalists at their residence here.
Fakhar Imam disclosed that some political parties were in contact with them but they had decided to adopt the policy of ‘wait and see’ at the moment. “Things would get clear after the interim setup is put in place and we are waiting for that time to come,” he added.
On the seat adjustment formula, Abida said that recent by-elections in Punjab have proved that voters of the two parties would only be casting their votes in favour their own party’s candidates.
Abida was confident that PPP voters in her constituency would vote for her. Both also expressed their resolve to contest the upcoming elections in any case. The couple was of the view that Imran Khan’s PTI had emerged as a third political force.