Pakistan general elections 2018: These are the major political parties racing for power

With elections just round the corner, these major political parties of Pakistan are pitched in a neck to neck battle. Here is all you need to know.

Images: (From left) PTI,Twitter,AFP

New Delhi: As Pakistan is all geared up for electioneering, the top political parties of the country are busy campaigning ferociously.  As per reports, most of the opinion polls suggest an overall Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML (N)) lead with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) being the close second. Here is all you need to know about the major political parties. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) PML-N is led by the former PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. The party had emerged victorious in a remarkable win in the previous general elections. This time, however, the party is struggling to uphold its image as a series of corruption charges and disqualifications of its top brass, taint its reputation. Party leader Nawaz was ousted from his post last year leading to the subsequent transfer of the post to current PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Sharif’s brother Shehbaz is being seen as the face of the party this time. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: PTI led by former international cricketer Imran Khan is the party that can give a tough fight to Nawaz’s PML-N. Party’s PM candidate Imran Khan has been hitting out vociferously at the PML-N over corruption and poor governance. Imran Khan is a popular personality in Pakistan and enjoys a fan-base due to his previous innings as a sportsman. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) The PPP is led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari, respectively the son and husband of late Benazir Bhutto who served as Pakistan’s Prime Minister twice (1988-1990 and from 1993-1996). Asif Ali Zardari has served as the 11^th President of Pakistan. 29-year-old Bilawal will be spearheading campaigns for the first time. Awami National Party (ANP): ANP claims to be Pakistan’s progressive, secular party and will be locking horns with PTI in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The party’s image has been marred by corruption allegations. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MQM has enjoyed being the single largest political force in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, for almost three decades. The party, however, got reduced after its alleged connection with criminal enterprises. Muttahida Majlis e Amal (MMA):  It is an alliance that comprises of some conservative, Islamist, religious, and far-right parties of Pakistan. Maulana Naeem Siddiqui (the founder of Tehreek e Islami) proposed such an alliance of all the religious parties back in the 1990s but it was formed in 2002 in a direct opposition to the policies led by President Pervez Musharraf to support for the United States' war in Afghanistan. Seats: The above parties will be pitched in a neck-to neck battle for 272 seats. There are a total of 342 seats up for polls, out of which 272 are general seats while the remaining 70 are special seats reserved for women and ethnic minority candidates