PESHAWAR, Feb 19: Love and money are seen as the binding factors than political considerations and ideologies in shaping up the outcome of the upcoming Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As the elections are just round the corner, people come across strange strategies adopted by the affluent lot to influence the provincial lawmakers forming the electoral college for 12 Senate seats, including seven general and two each technocrats and women and one for minorities.

The candidates with no apparent political support have added colour to the Senate elections as they would use money to get through.

Some lawmakers and candidates believe that money, not ideology, will play major role in winning elections. The rate of voters may go up and up after acceptance of papers of some of the wealthy candidates.

Jumping of the well-off candidates into the race can turn around fortune of the lawmakers particularly independents. However, political pundits predict that rejection of papers of outgoing senator Aamar Ahmad Khan from Dera Ismail Khan would adversely affect the money-game market this time.

MPA from Chitral Ghulam Mohammad voluntarily seconded papers of Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, a candidate of All Pakistan Muslim League led by former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, for his services for the development of his remote backward district.

“I seconded Barrister’s papers in recognition of Musharraf’s services for my hometown of Chitral,” said Ghulam Mohammad, “nobody can imagine love and respect the people have in Chitral for the former president and he enjoyed immense popularity in the district.”

The former president had visited Chitral seven times, he said and added that he had started construction of Lowari Tunnel besides execution of many development projects in the district and he was under pressure from his voters to favour Musharraf’s candidate in the Senate elections.

He said that Chitralis had invited Musharraf to contest next elections from the district.

Another MPA from Mansehra district also professes ‘love’ with Musharraf and he became Barrister Saif’s proposer unconditionally.

Waji-uz-Zaman, Khan of Oghi, Mansehra district, also showed warmth towards Musharraf as he opted to become proposer of Barrister Saif for the polls. Wajih-uz-Zaman, also a former health minister, considered Musharraf his benefactor, who awarded ticket to his mother in 2008 and she became a senator.

Despite rejection of Aamar’s papers, independent candidate Shah Faisal Afridi and sitting Senator Talha Mahmood of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, who is also a candidate for the Senate, have still kept expectations high in the market. Talha requires one additional vote because JUI-F has 15 members in the assembly.

Whereas Shah Faisal Afridi, son of former parliamentarian from Khyber Agency Mohammad Shah Afridi, needs more than 14 votes for confirming his victory in the elections.

He can ensure his victory through money because he does not enjoy support of any political party. MPAs Atiqur Rehman from Hangu and Murid Kazim, Makhdoom from Dera Ismail Khan have become Afridi’s proposer and seconder respectively.

Afridi’s family has launched vigorous campaign in print media. His father is releasing half and quarter page advertisements to newspapers for the last one week to attract voters. These advertisements are aimed at helping Afridi in getting Senate membership through his philanthropic work done by his family during October 2005 earthquake in Hazara division.