ISLAMABAD, April 14: As the election nears, the sidelined and discarded politicians appear to be heading for the Pakistan Muslim League-N rather than for Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf which no longer looks a safe bet.

The PML-N, which had been following until recently a strict policy in accepting such people and was critical of the PTI for allowing what it used to call the “remnants” of former dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf, has finally decided to open its doors for everyone.

After recent joining of the party by PML-Q dissidents Marvi Memon and Engineer Amir Muqam, two confidants of Gen Musharraf, the PML-N leaders claim that they have a long list of “prominent political figures” who have already negotiated with the leadership and are waiting to make a formal announcement to join party.

Most of the politicians who joined either the PML-N or the PTI had done so only after having negotiations with the leaders of the two parties and without showing their intentions till they made a final decision.

Former foreign minister in the present PPP government Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi met PML-N president Nawaz Sharif at least twice before announcing his decision to join the PTI. He had held the last such meeting with Mr Sharif and other PML-N leaders at Raiwind only four days before his announcement to join the PTI at a public meeting in Ghotki last year.

Similarly, former Pakistan People’s Party senator Enver Baig joined the PML-N last week after holding negotiations with the leaderships of both the parties. Mr Baig, who had resigned from the PPP in August after receiving a suspension notice for allegedly violating the party discipline by meeting Mr Sharif, had been in contact with leaders of both the PML-N and the PTI for several months.

Sources told Dawn that only a few days before joining the PML-N, Mr Baig had a breakfast meeting with Mr Khan at the latter’s Banni Gala residence in the presence of Jahangir Tareen and Ishaq Khakwani, but a deal between them could not materialise.

The PTI leaders believe that Mr Baig actually met Mr Khan to strengthen his bargaining position in negotiations with Mr Sharif.

On the other hand, Mr Baig claimed that he had met Mr Sharif on the request of some friends and made it clear to Mr Khan that during the meeting he had not made any commitment to Mr Sharif.

Earlier, Marvi Memon, soon after joining the PML-N, claimed that she had been offered the office of PTI’s information secretary by Mr Khan.

After these incidents, the leaders of both the parties have become cautious. They claim that a number of prominent figures are expected to join their respective parties over the next weeks, but have not revealed their names.

PML-N’s information secretary Mushahidullah Khan and senior PTI leader Ishaq Khakwani, when contacted separately, said that a number of renowned political figures and ex-legislators were expected to join their parties.

In reply to a question, Mr Khakwani rejected the perception that people had started preferring the PML-N over the PTI while deciding about their future political destination.

In fact, he claimed, only those people were joining the PML-N who had been rejected by the PTI.

Mr Khakwani claimed that a group of four to five former MNAs would join the PTI in coming days.

Sources in the PML-N also said that a number of prominent personalities were expected to join the party during Mr Sharif’s visit to Sindh next week.

According to the sources, the leaders expected to join the party include Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Bhutto, former information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani, former minister Tariq Azeem, former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum and Shaukat Shah from Nawabshah.—Amir Wasim