Politics of coalition kicks off in Balochistan

Work on new political realignments is speeding up in Balochistan. 

Political stalwarts are already on the go to snatch as many independents as possible for a coalition government, which would likely comprise of three or more political parties in the 65-member assembly.

The two parties, with the most wins, and a burning desire to form government in the province are the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

As far as numbers go, the BAP is a strong contender with over 15 provincial constituencies in hand. 

Last week, BAP received the support of two independent winners — Mitha Khan and Sardar Masood Luni — bringing its tally up to 17 MPAs-elect. That leaves behind three more independents for the taking, of which two — Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and Arif Muhammad Hasni — are still undecided. Their second option is the PTI, which walked off with four provincial assembly seats.

The tug of war is likely to get more intense in the coming days. 

BAP chief Jam Kamal Khan claims to have already acquired the numbers needed to bring in their own chief minister. However, Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI’s central spokesperson, has also boasted of his party’s position in the province. Talking to the media recently, Chaudhry said: “We are in a better position to form a coalition government in Balochistan.”

Separately, PTI’s provincial chief is in talks to woo BNP-Awami, that has the strength of two MPAs, and the two remaining independents to secure a majority in the provincial assembly.

Who will form the government in Balochistan?

Despite who emerges victorious, history tells us that Balochistan’s coalition governments are always unpredictable and a change of guard is always a possibility

But there is also a third contender eyeing the big prize — the Balochistan National Party (Mengal) which secured seven seats on July 25. 

BNP-M is reportedly sitting down with the Muttahida Majlis–e–Amal (MMA), which has nine seats, to hammer out a coalition. 

For this dream to come true, BNP-M needs the support of 18 additional members in the house. However, their chances cannot be discounted.

In the past, both the BNP-M and MMA have comfortably worked as alliance partners. Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the chief of BNP-M, led a provincial coalition government with the help of JUI-F after the general election in 1997.

Of the remaining political parties — the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), the Jamhoori Watan Party, the Awami National Party and the Hazara Democratic Party — the latter two have shown an inclination towards BAP.