President Asif Ali Zardari is reported to be evaluating the performance of members of national and provincial assemblies belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from Sindh in order to decide whether or not to award party tickets to them in the next general election.

Mr Zardari, who is also co-chairperson of the PPP, held separate meetings with lawmakers and party leaders from each district.Sources said the president asked the lawmakers about development projects completed and in progress in their constituencies.

He also looked into the number of votes they had polled in the last two general elections and that of their rivals. He questioned them about the number of voters and fresh enrolments in their constituencies.The sources said the exercise would continue till the announcement of election schedule, expected in March.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, according to the sources, attended the meetings. They said the new PPP chief needed to adopt a pragmatic approach for getting rid of seniors and introducing young people.The sources said that 60 to 70 per cent of sitting lawmakers might be replaced by new faces.

The current lawmakers had been given party tickets by Benazir Bhutto and she was assassinated when the election process was mid-way and most of them returned to the assemblies under a sympathy wave.But, the analysts point out, this time people would cast their votes on the performance and credibility of the candidates.

The PPP Sindh chapter is reportedly working on a schedule for a mass contact campaign in each district to prepare lists of potential candidates.