KARACHI - The opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly will not be able to get a single seat from province in the upcoming Senate elections if they contest separately. Eleven Senators belonging to Sindh will be retired on March 11, 2009 after the completion of their tenure. They include seven general seats, two Ulema/technocrats and two women senators. In the 168-member Sindh Assembly, opposition parties have a total of 22 seats including 11 members of the PML-Q, 8 of PML-F and 3 legislators of the National People's Party of former caretaker Prime Minster Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi. Despite having lesser seats than PML-Q, the PML-F succeeded in getting the slot of Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly. It will be worth mentioning here that on the one hand PML-F enjoys the slot of the leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly while on the other, its three members are serving as Advisors to the Chief Minister. Moreover, all opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly had supported the government in presidential election of Asif Ali Zardari. Well-informed sources are of the view that majority of the 11 PML-Q members in Sindh Assembly might not follow the party decision in upcoming Senate elections as they did during the presidential election. According to political analysts, out of 11 members of PML-Q, two MPAs namely Sardar Ghalib Domki and Sardar Ghulam Abid Sundrani have already formed the forward bloc in provincial assembly and announced their support for the government. Hence, it is clear that these two lawmakers will not support their party candidate in the upcoming Senate elections. Similarly, a lady member of the PML-Q in Sindh Assembly, Dr. Sajeela Leghari, sits on treasury benches therefore it is unlikely that she will follow her party's policy in the Senate elections. Former Chief Minister, Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim, has left the country and currently living in self-exile in Dubai. Fearing retaliation from the present government for aggressive statements against the PPP leadership and lodging thousands of cases against PPP workers during his tenure, Dr. Ghulam Rahim might not return to cast his vote in the upcoming Senate elections.In the Sindh Assembly, the ruling PPP has 93 lawmakers and its coalition partners in the provincial government, MQM and the ANP, have 51 and 2 members respectively. The ruling PPP will be in a position to bag seven Senate seats from the Sindh province whereas the second largest party MQM will also get one seat in case they make electoral alliance in the provincial assembly. Three PML-Q Senators including Chairman Senate Muhammadmian Soomro, Chairman Defence Standing Committee of Senate Nisar Memon and Yasmeen Shah will retire on 11th March 2009 while the remaining two Senators of the party, Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi and Mrs. Semeen Siddiqui will serve till 2012. The tenure of Senators belonging to PPP and MQM including Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek of PPP, Babar Ghori (MQM), Anwer Baig (PPP), Allama Abbas Kumaili (MQM), Dr Ali Mohammad Brohi (MQM), Rukhsana Zuberi (PPP), Asif Jatoi (NPP) and Amin Dadabhoy (Independent) will also end on March 11, 2009. The biggest gainer in the Senate election from Sindh will be the PPP because of its weaker position in the provincial assembly. The PML-Q will be the top loser as its three senators will retire but it will not be in a position to win a single seat from Sindh without the support of other opposition parties. PML-F may also obtain a Senate seat from Sindh Assembly after making coalition with other opposition parties. However, MQM will likely retain its strength of six seats as the party would easily get Senators elected, the same number of its members going to retire on March 11, 2009.