LAHORE, March 25: The PML-Q and PPP have decided in principle to keep the alliance intact.

“Yes the leadership of the PPP and PML-Q have decided that the alliance will remain intact and both the parties will go into the election jointly,” PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi said.

Responding to a Dawn’s query he said President Asif Ali Zardari had addressed PML-Q concerns over PPP efforts to woo its strong candidates.

About resumption of seat-adjustment talks between the two parties, especially on disputed seats like NA-105 where his father Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is a candidate, Moonis said: “We think it is not a disputed one since we are not even discussing fielding the PML-Q candidates from the home town (Larkana) seats of the PPP leadership. The seats which are contested by our leadership should not be made disputed. Let me clear one thing, we have no objection if Chaudhry Mukhtar Ahmed wishes to contest from NA-105 as well.”

Ahmed Mukhtar said on Monday that the PPP could not go along with the PML-Q. He has been critical of the PML-Q for quite sometime and made it clear that he would contest NA-105 no matter what happened.

Relations between the two former coalition partners turned sour after the PPP leadership allegedly lured PML-Q’s former minister Sardar Bahadur Sehar from Layyah and also offered its half-a-dozen stalwarts PPP tickets.

The seat-adjustment talks were suspended following Mr Sehar’s episode. Earlier, both parties finalised joint candidates for the national assembly seats in all districts of Punjab and Punjab assembly in 10 or so districts.

There has been a lot of pressure on the Chaudhrys of Gujrat within the party to part ways from the PPP. The anti-PPP group in the party is of the view that the PPP workers will not vote for the PML-Q candidates and neither Q supporters will give respect to the PPP. They say it is the right time to say goodbye to the PPP and go into the coming elections independently or explore seat-adjustment at local level.

Meanwehile, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Monday awarded 80 (undisputed) national and Punjab assemblies tickets to its candidates.

“Our party is fielding candidates with great record of services to the people. The real contest will be between those who made Punjab prosperous and those who rendered it bankrupt,” he said.