PML-N enters into electoral alliance with Likeminded

Leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PML-Likeminded group on Saturday signed an agreement at Raiwind to form an electoral alliance for upcoming polls, and agreed on a seat adjustment formula. Speaking at a press conference where the agreement was announced, Humayun Akhtar, general secretary of the Likeminded group, briefed the media on the number of seats allotted to the party. “According to the agreement made between the two parties, 30 (which comes to 11 percent) general seats in the National Assembly have been allotted to the Likeminded group in the upcoming elections,” Akhtar said. He said the same percentage of general seats had been allotted to the Likeminded group for all the provinces, adding that the allocation of reserved seats for women, minorities and the Senate was to be based on other terms. “The Likeminded group will be given a fair representation in the parliamentary boards, manifesto committees and bodies for future alliances,” Akhtar said. The Likeminded group, led by Hamid Nasir Chattha, has some of the political heavyweights of Punjab and Sindh, including Humayun Akhtar and Arbab Ghulam Rahim. Meanwhile, the Likeminded’s Punjab President Ata Muhammad Manika resigned from his position, saying he had not been consulted on the alliance with the PML-N. On the other hand, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, while talking to a private TV channel, said that although Manika was the provincial president of the Likeminded group, but his real connection was with the forward block of Q-League. Replying to a question about the possibility of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat joining his party, Nawaz said the Chaudhrys were currently enjoying the government, and when their enjoyment comes to an end then his party would consider such proposals. Earlier on Wednesday, Sindh National Front (SNF) chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto had announced that he and his party would operate under the flag of PML-N — a merger believed by many analysts to be a breakthrough for Nawaz in forming an anti-PPP grand alliance.
Last year, the Likeminded group had entered into negotiations with PTI Chairman Imran Khan to discuss a possible alliance. But the talks broke down after Imran asked the Likeminded leaders to join his party individually or collectively.
The Likeminded group split, with Chattha and his supporters favouring an alliance with the PTI, while Humayun Akhtar pushing for joining hands with the PML-N. Sources said that it took Akhtar a lot of efforts to convince Chattha to agree to an alliance as the latter and Nawaz have been political rivals since 1993.
Sources said that ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the PML-N is inching towards its goal of piecing together a “grand political alliance”. After assimilating the SNF, the party has engaged the PML-Likeminded, a breakaway faction of the PML-Q.
Sources believe that Nawaz would use Chattha to launch an offensive against the Chaudhrys of Gujrat and seek Shujaat Hussain’s disqualification as president of the PML-Q.