Zardari draws roadmap for next polls

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Zardari has drawn roadmap for the PPP to drive maximum political mileage before and during the next general elections, political sources said Friday. Sources privy to these developments told TheNation that PPP Co- Chairman has been successful in manoeuvring political developments in such a manner that could help his ruling party to drive maximum mileage while being in power as well as during the next general elections. Given that concurrently being President of Pakistan and PPP Co-Chairman, Mr Zardari has been at liberty in doing wheeling dealing that helped him in securing unique freedom for the party. Sources said his pre-emptive mode of party politics over the past few weeks has given him a situation wherein he can successfully bargain with other political players both for short and long-term political dividends. By virtue of his party policy of national reconciliation as well as being countrys President, Zardari has been instrumental in making and breaking political alliances beginning with the PML-N and now the PML-Q, credible parliamentary sources said while requesting anonymity. Sources said he has devised a strategy that would not only benefit the PPP in smooth passage of the forth coming national budget and the Senate Elections in March next year but also during the next general elections. For sure, he has written off the PML-N for any future cooperation with PPP and was in arms twisting mode to sort out the MQM to punish it for dilly dally in re-joining the Federal Cabinet after winning support of the PML-Q, which is all set to go with one time arch rival PPP. An important dinner meeting of PML-Q Chief Chuadhry Shujjat Hussain with Asif Zardari was expected today to finalize their deal but neither the Presidency nor sources in the PML-Q confirmed till filing of this report. Sources said it has probably been put off for rescheduling because of the meeting of visiting Indian delegation with the President. As per sources, this has been the most daunting challenge for Mr Zardari which he successfully surmounted by making the PML-Q first a directionless political entity and later persuaded it for boarding the PPP-led coalition ship. These moves have created an ample space for the ruling PPP to manoeuvre political support of the political entities in the parliament other than the PML-N, sources said, while referring to the potential political deal the PPP and PML-Q have decided in principle. Only minor details relating to future cooperation between the two parties particularly the next general elections are being decided by the two parties before making formal announcement, a source quipped. He insisted that both the parties have agreed to make seat adjustments during the next elections in Punjab to squeeze the ruling PML-N. Once both the PPP and PML-Q formalize their cooperation soon, the PPP would launch exclusive efforts to work out a similar cooperative relationship with the MQM, sources said. PPP will be in most advantageous position in making political realignments of its choice leaving the PML-N as lone competing force in the future political arena, sources said. These notions got more credence when PML-N acknowledging the PPP moves has made it its mind to take solo flight no matter it how much it would lose or gain in the due political course. Sources in the PML-N sources have ruled out the possibility of any future political cooperation either with the PPP, PML-Q or MQM.

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