The battle for control of the Senate appears to be getting more competitive with the day. With all political parties gearing up with candidates, the Senate polls are likely to take place in a highly charged political climate. Included in the PPP’s list of nominees for the seats include heavyweights like Taj Haider and Sherry Rehman. As decided by the PML-N’s parliamentary board, the party nominees feature Mushahidullah Khan and Pervez Rashid. The grand opposition alliance has nominated former prime minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and seasoned politician Farhatullah Babar as joint candidates. It is pretty clear that the opposition parties are in the run with the sole aim to overthrow the government. There is already an uproar over the government bid to change the voting mechanism in the elections from secret to open ballotting. The constituent parties of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have come a long way from expressing strong reservations over participation in Senate polls. Now, they are sharpening their claws to take over seats while raising a loud ruckus over the nitty-gritties. Stepping forward with leaders who have time and again commanded tremendous control over both upper and lower houses, the PDM has a clear agenda: pull the maximum number of seat away from the government. One might wonder why senior political figures like Rehman Malik and Raja Zafar ul Haq (Leader of Opposition in the Senate) could not make the cut despite being top contenders for the list. Malik was under fire last year over a funding controversy where his comments regarding foreign sources being the crux of PDM supporters made several rounds on media outlets. Haq’s disapprobation is doubly unfortunate on the grounds that he holds the portfolio of party chairman (a constitutional party) as compared to PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif (a position with no reference in the party’s constitution.) The fact that senate candidates pour in record sums of money to buy votes from members of their electoral college. The PTI should be appreciated for trying to ensure that money does not influence elections. Prime Minister Imran Khan has already told the parliamentary board that tickets should be awarded on merit. However, all political parties should realise their immediate responsibility of cleaning the house. A senate that is free from the menace of vote-buying is in a far stronger position to legislate on key issues. As for the ruling party, PTI is all set to become the single largest party in the Senate after the upcoming elections but would still need to rely on allies to bring about meaningful change. *