MUZAFFARGARH: In a surprise move, former federal minister of Pakistan People’s Party Sardar Abdul Qayyum Jatoi and three former MPAs from Alipur and Jatoi tehsils reportedly held a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Secretary General Sardar Awais Khan Leghari in Lahore and discussed joining the PML-N.

Sources said the PML-N leadership had directed Mr Leghari to hold meetings with the local leaders of the PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to woo them into joining the party.

Ex-MPA of PML-N Hammad Nawaz Tippu confirmed to Dawn that a meeting was held between Mr Laghari and the PPP leaders led by Qayyum Jatoi. However, he said the dialogue was in its initial stage. He hoped that after joining of Jatois, the PML-N would clean sweep in the district in the next general as well as local elections.

In the last tenure of PPP, Qayyum Jatoi was a federal minister.

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Earlier, during Musharraf regime Mr Jatoi got elected as district nazim of Muzaffargarh, but he did not sever his link with the PPP and later contested general election on the party ticket and was lone PPP MNA from south Punjab.

In the last general election (2018), Mr Qayyum’s son Daud Jatoi contested on a PPP ticket, while Sardar Moazzam Jatoi (brother-in-law of Qayyum) contested on PTI ticket.

Both lost the contest.

As per sources, on Tuesday, PPP leaders Sardar Daud Jatoi, ex-MPA Sardar Rasool Bukhsh Jatoi and Makhdoom Qaim Ali Shamsi met with Mr Laghari and gave their consent to join the PML-N. Now they were waiting for PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif’s return from London to make a formal announcement to join the party in his presence.

In the district, in 2008 general elections held after assassination of Benazir Bhutto, all the five National Assembly seats were won by the PPP candidates and the party’s then co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had termed Muzaffargarh “mini Larkana”.

In 2018 general election, PPP candidates won three seats of the National Assembly. The PML-N candidates were either defeated by the PPP’s or independents, who later joined the ruling PTI.

According to observers of local politics, after Jatois joining in, the PML-N will get a boost in the south Punjab and its vote bank will be strengthened in Jatoi and Ali Pur tehsils.

Earlier, two PML-N leaders in the district -- Makhdoom Basit Bukhari and Haroon Bukhari -- had left the party. Makhdoom Basit Bukhari had joined the PTI and was elected MNA, while Haroon Bukhari got defeated by Aon Hameed Dogar of the PTI.

Talking to Dawn, Sardar Daud Jatoi, avoided a direct answer about his plans to join the PML-N, but confirmed the meeting with Mr Leghari, saying, “It was just a meeting with Sardar Awais Khan Leghari at his house in Lahore as he had invited us”.

However, Ex-MPA Hammad Nawaz Tippu said a formal announcement of the PPP leaders joining the PML-N would be made by Mr Qayyum Jatoi. He claimed that after the announcement, three other ex-MPAs and some independents from the district would also announce joining the party.

PPP MNA Mehr Irshad Sial, however, downplayed the significance of this development and said nobody could commit disloyalty with the PPP and win election in the district. About PML-N’s chances to “clean sweep” the district, he said Muzaffargarh people would themselves see the position of the PMLN in the next poll.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2020