SWABI, Feb 2: The Awami National Party has accelerated its campaign to bring back the annoyed leaders and diehard workers into its fold, while keeping in mind the next general elections, said its hierarchy here on Friday.

They said that after the return of the ANP’s district president and former MNA Haji Rehmanullah from the United Arabs Emirates, he held a wide-ranging meeting with the party affiliated union council Nazims, office-bearers. The top leadership, discussed the causes of ANP’s defeat in the district and tehsil Nazim elections and they collectively devised a strategy for the strengthening of the party.

When contacted, Haji Rehmanullah said that looking into the prevailing circumstances all the party leaders and workers should shun their differences in the best interest of the party.

Replying to a question about holding of talks for the merging of Swabi Qaumi Mahaz (SQM) into ANP and bringing back the former MPA Abdul Majid Khan, former provincial forest minister Awal Sher Khan, former provincial general secretary Salim Khan and others back into the ANP fold.

He said that his party’s central leadership had not given him any green signal in this regard but in the same breath he said that those who are interested in again joining the ANP were most welcomed and the doors had been remained opened for them with open heart.

However, the independent sources said that behind the scene efforts had been under way to bring back all the afore-mentioned leaders into party and even contacts were made with the former adviser to NWFP chief minister Major Mohammad Aamir but he refused to plunge into the game of politics.

Independent political pundits claimed if the afore-mentioned leaders remained annoyed the ANP would confront various problems in the upcoming elections and the league leaders would give tough time to it.

The ANP leaders admitted that ANP and PML, are the two major parties in the district and they would be arch rivals in the October elections.

However, some of them claimed that in the case of ANP and PML alliance the dreams of other parties would meet with a dead end.