Senate elections: PTI to secure 4-5 seats easily from KP

Owing to its strength in the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would easily secure 4 to 5 out of the 12 seats in the Upper House of the Parliament in the polls to be held on March 3, 2015.
Any further seats would require an understanding with its allies. However, analysts told Business Recorder that given PTI's rigid stance on a number of issues, especially corruption, the status quo parties notably PML-N and JUI-F may find greater success in reaching an understanding with other smaller parties to maximise their strength in the Senate.
Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) are not in a position to win even a single seat in the Senate from KP due to only 5 seats each in the provincial assembly. However, these parties may reach an understanding with PML-N and JUI-F in KP by bargaining with the PML-N for votes in Sindh and Balochistan Assembly given PPP's strength in Sindh and JUI-F's 8 MPAs in Balochistan.
The QWP which has 10 members in KP Assembly would try to win a seat in the Senate through bargaining and alliance with other parties. Likewise, the AJIP and JI can secure one seat each in the Senate polls if they seek PTI support. The PTI has tasked Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in the absence of chairman Imran Khan, to contact party workers in KP and shortlist candidates for nominations as Senators. However, analysts warn that some of its dissident lawmakers may create problems for the party in the secret ballot.
Election for 12 seats including one minority and two female in the Senate from KP would be held on March 3, 2015 and the newly-elected members of the Upper House of the Parliament will enjoy a six-year tenure - from March 2015 to March 2021. The KP Assembly requires 17.5 votes to elect one Senator as per the formula. The numerical strength of political parties in KP Assembly is as follows: the ruling PTI has 56 MPAs, the JUI-F and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have 17 MPAs each, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) of Sherpao has 10 members, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) 8, PTI's ally Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) 5 and 5 MPAs belonging to PPP and ANP each with two independent (in coalition with PTI). The ruling PML-N and its ally JUI-F can win one seat each from KP Assembly in the Senate election.