LAHORE, Jan 22: With the PPP reportedly contemplating change in Punjab, the forward bloc politics is back in the business with the PML-Q claiming to have received a number of deserters back, Atta Maneka of the forward bloc denying any erosion of his group’s numerical strength and Nawaz League claiming to be “impervious to this small time political wrangling”.

With conflicting claims of all three parties involved in political maneuvering to break or save Punjab government, the provincial political snake pit remains hissing and spiting.

The originator of Thursday’s news break was the PML-Q, which claimed to have received back 58 members of its total strength of 74, and telephonic contacts with the rest.

Talking to Dawn, Moonis Elahi said these members met the Q-leadership during the last three days and had assured their allegiance to the party in case of crunch. The rest of the bunch was also in touch telephonically, and would back the party if change came to the province, he added.

“Most of these members, which met Pervaiz Elahi, claimed to be disgruntled with Punjab government for its condescending attitude,” says Moonis Elahi. “The forward bloc politics is creation of the PML-N, which is now bemoaning it. After Feb 18 elections, it should have resisted the temptation of creating such bloc in the PML-Q, and taken moral stand then instead of now. Had it desisted from such adventurism, the PML-Q might also have been under moral pressure now to avoid it. Even now, the Q-League is only getting its members back and so far not trying to lure people from other parties,” he said.

Atta Maneka, leader of the PML-Q forward bloc, however, denied any further erosion of his group, saying only those who had earlier left the group had met the Chaudhrys. “Our group still enjoys the support of 37 committed members, who will stand behind Mian Shahbaz Sharif in any case,” he said. Some of the members of the forward bloc were pushed back to the Q-camp by the PPP, as support of three or four members did not matter for it. So, they are actually members of the PPP group rather than the PML-Q. The bloc was united and would prove its strength when required, rather than indulging in the politics of claims and counter claims, he said.

Adviser to Chief Minister Pervaiz Rasheed, while talking to Dawn, refused to make any comments on Q-League claims. “The PML-N government came into being on the basis of popular mandate, and the same principle on which PPP took over the centre; respecting each other’s mandate. Any one trying to rig that mandate would be violating the same principle and destabilising the entire system of governance. The PML-N does not want to violate it, nor would like others disobeying the same – because it would infringe upon democratic principles. The country is facing a host of problems that do not allow the leaders to waste time on such politically destabilising recipes,” he concluded.