GUJRAT, May 7: The local chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz could neither bring party chief Nawaz Sharif to Gujrat throughout the election campaign nor the party could arrange any big public meeting at the district headquarters where the stage is set for an electoral battle between heavyweights in NA-105.

Insiders say a big public meeting had been planned at the initial stages of the election campaign but the idea was thwarted by differences within the party candidates on the selection of venue .

According to them some of the party nominees from Gujrat tehsil were reluctant to hold the meeting at Zahoor Elahi Stadium as, according to them, the venue needed some 100,000 people to fill it.

The Nawabzada family had offered to hold the meeting in Jallalpur Jattan, the main town of NA-104. But the candidates from Kharian were not willing to go to NA-104 as they wanted it to be held either in Kharian, Kotla or Lalamusa. A senior leader of the PML-N was even in opposition of holding such a public meeting citing the security threats as the main reason.

PML-N nominee in NA-105 Chaudhry Mubashar Husain also showed little interest in party chief’s public meeting that could have benefited him.

This reporter talked to various candidates of the PML-N in the district on the matter and all of them cited differences within the party ranks as the main cause of Nawaz Sharif’s not visiting the town.

Pagganwalas: The Pagganwala family has regained the office of PPP’s Gujrat district president as the party leadership has replaced Tahir Zaman Kaira with Mian Fakhar Pagganwala.

Tahir Zaman Kaira is the elder brother of PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira.

Sources say Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar played his role in the change of guard as he needed Pagganwala group’s active support in NA-105 election campaign where he faces PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.