GUJRAT, April 25: The PML-N suffered a big blow in Gujrat on Thursday when diehard leaders from the Gurala family announced joining the PML-Q. In another development, PML-N’s senior vice-president of Gujrat district Chaudhry Farrukh Majeed resigned in protest against the party’s callousness towards old guards.

Imranullah Gurala, a PML-N ticket holder in the last general election against Chaudhry Moonis Elahi in PP-110 and his brother Najeebullah Gurala who had applied for a PML-N ticket in NA-105 and other influential members of the Gurala group, made the announcement at their residence in the presence of the PML-Q aspirant for NA-105 Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

The Gurala group had been an active part of the PML-N throughout the Musharraf regime and dared Pervaiz Elahi in his stronghold even when Mr Elahi was the Punjab chief minister.

Both Gurala brothers, who were denied tickets for NA-105 and PP-110, wanted the ticket for PP-110 against Moonis Elahi, but the PML-N awarded the ticket to Raza Ali Warraich who had joined the party after ditching the PML-Q some two years ago.

Meanwhile, the PML-N has lost another loyalist Chaudhry Farrukh Majeed, the SVP of the party’s district chapter. Mr Majeed has announced quitting the party office in protest against what he termed anti-workers policies and apathy of the leadership.

Mr Majeed, who is known for his sincerity in Kharian tehsil, has been an influential political worker in NA-107 where the silence of his strong group will not augur well for the election campaign of party nominees in the area.

Sources close to Mr Majeed said that he was perturbed over not fulfilling of the commitment made by party chief Nawaz Sharif of awarding him (Majeed) a ticket for PP-115 (Kotla). The PML-N has awarded both tickets of NA-107 and PP-115 to Abid Raza and his brother Shabbir Ahmed of the Kotla group.

The PML-N has also not awarded the NA-107 ticket to its Gujrat district president Malik Hanif Awan who had been elected as an MNA in the 2012 by-polls.

Hanif Awan was willing to surrender the NA-107? only in case of a party ticket for Farrukh Majeed in PP-115 as the party leadership wanted to accommodate Mr Awan in PP-114 (Sara-i-Alamgir) instead of NA-107 and the leadership had reportedly made a commitment to award both PA tickets to diehard workers (Mr Awan and Mr Majeed).

But the party has not honored its commitment and awarded both NA and PA tickets to the Kotla brothers which were not acceptable to local party workers who revolted against the party decision and announced resigning the PML-N along with Farrukh Majeed.

Mr Majeed told Dawn by telephone that he had still not decided to join any other party as, according to him, the PML-Q was persuading him to join the party. However, he said that he and his companions would make a decision in this regard shortly.

He blamed Hamza Shahbaz for hijacking the party in Gujrat and said the party would suffer a lot due to the immature politics of the junior Sharif.

Sources in the PML-N said the party leadership had been advised by some senior members that the decision of awarding two tickets to Kotlas, especially of NA-107, would put the seats at high risk. However, Hamza Shahbaz succeeded in making his liking as the party’s choice.

Now Hanif Awan is the PML-N nominee in PP-114, but there is no coordination between him and Abid Raza, the party’s nominee in NA-107.

Another former member of Gujrat district council Mukhtar Dhal has quitted the PTI and announced joining the PML-Q in the presence of party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Mr Dhal was denied the PTI ticket for PP-115.