"Meet Mr Sonia Gandhi" that was how a PPP spokesperson recently introduced party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to a group of journalists.
Spokesperson Sherry Rehman's reference to Zardari, the husband of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, was in a lighter vein, but he took it more seriously.
Zardari explained to journalists who met him in Bhutto's ancestral village of Naudero that he, like the Congress President, wanted to take a back seat and let the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leadership decide things.
"I think we should have a national government after the elections as this country has become ungovernable," Zardari was quoted as saying by the Dawn.
"It's not about power this time; we want to set things right first, strengthen institutions by taking everybody along, including (former premier and PML-N chief) Nawaz Sharif."
Zardari said he saw his role as a cementing force to keep the PPP together. He would try to keep a balance among divergent forces and preserve Bhutto's legacy.
Just a few days after Bhutto's assassination on December 27, Zardari had said he would be an "advisory figure" like Sonia Gandhi, but without a seat in Parliament, if the PPP is voted to power in the February 18 general election.
"If our party wins a majority in (the) elections, I will not take a Cabinet post but will act like Sonia Gandhi, as an advisory figure without a seat in Parliament," he said.
Zardari also vowed to complete Benazir's mission of ushering in complete democracy to Pakistan as thousands of people gathered at the slain former premier's family mausoleum in Sindh to attend a ceremony marking the end 40 days of mourning for her.
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