LAHORE, May 25: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid on Saturday admitted that its decision to contest May 11 elections in alliance with the Pakistan People’s Party was a ‘mistake’ that cost it dearly.

The admission by PML-Q leadership came at a meeting of the party ticket-holders for the recent election here at the Chaudhrys’ residence here on Zahoor Elahi Road.

PML-Q President Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, former deputy prime minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Senator Mushahid Husain, Basharat Raja, Senator Kamil Ali Agha, S.M Zafar, Khalid Ranjah, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, Anwar Ali Cheema, Tariq Bashir Cheema were also present.

At the meeting, a good number of Q’s losing candidates lashed out at the PPP and demanded Chaudhry Shujaat should announce parting ways with the People’s Party.

They were of the view that had they withdrawn from the alliance with the PPP before the election, the PML-Q would have won a considerable number of seats in the National and Punjab assemblies. They said such a move would also have helped PML-Q retain those party members who had to contest independently because of its seat adjustment policy and subsequently won.

Even before the election, there had been a difference of opinion within the PML-Q on the issue of its alliance with the PPP. One group wanted to contest polls independently, with adjustments on some seats at local level with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The other was of the view that it was too late to say goodbye to the PPP after the party remained a partner in the coalition government for over a year.

Chaudhry Shujaat Husain said the PML-Q’s alliance with the PPP was for the elections. “We will do effective politics in the opposition and now we should better concentrate on strengthening the party at the grass-root level instead of running after electables,” he said.

Shujaat asked the party men to start preparations for the local body elections which the PML-N claimed to hold in November/December.

The PML-Q in the local body would only make an alliance with the like-minded parties.

On the complaint of ‘systematic rigging’ by some losing candidates, Shujaat asked them to gather evidence and the party would take up the matter with the Election Commission.

Kamil Ali Agha told Dawn the PML-Q admitted in the meeting that it was a mistake to contest the election along with the PPP. He said the party’s losing candidates complained the people of their constituencies were annoyed with the PPP and they (candidates) had to bear the brunt of its alliance with the party.

Agha said the PML-Q had demanded constitution of a ‘National Commission’ to investigate the rigging complaints. “Our candidates complained they had been defeated because of a conspiracy and the matter should be investigated by an independent national commission,” he said.

In a separate meeting with the party members from Balochistan, Shujaat asked the winning party MPAs to support the National Party in the province for formation of provincial government there.