ISLAMABAD: As a number of disgruntled key leaders from Pakistan People’s Party's (PPP) Okara chapter switch their allegiance to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), some two dozen former parliamentarians of the PPP from Punjab are also considering the option to say final ‘goodbyes’ to party leadership in the upcoming days, sources told Dawn.com on Thursday.

A senior member of the party said that a majority of former parliamentarians of the PPP from Punjab believe that the party leadership failed to address their reservations despite multiple requests, in which case the only option for them was to leave the PPP for their survival in the future political landscape of the province.

Also read: PPP suffers another blow in Punjab as Sumsam Bokhari joins PTI

The PPP leader said that several parliamentarians who failed to secure assembly seats during the general elections of May 2013 believe that the party leadership has not been giving them importance due to their failure in the last elections while they are compelled to face victimisation at the hands of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the province.

“Dozens of parliamentarians showed their concerns regarding the policies of the party and its leadership in Punjab in the last meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the party which was held in Islamabad on June 17,” the PPP member said.

Former federal minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told Dawn.com that the party leadership sacrificed the political interests of Punjab to save the political interests of Sindh which created panic among PPP leaders in the province.

“The PPP is not in power in the province while it failed to play the role of ‘real opposition’ according to the wishes of the masses of the province. That’s why the party representatives believe that they are ‘irrelevant’ for the PPP in Punjab,” Awan said.

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The former federal minister said the PPP leadership needs to introduce ‘result-oriented workers’ while a major surgical intervention is required in the present party set-up at the provincial level. Otherwise, any other party, such as the PTI, may fill the vacuum, she said.

“Several former parliamentarians including me are very disappointed with the present policies of the party as we are facing victimisation from the ruling PML-N in the province while the party leadership has not condemned the actions of the PML-N leadership as yet,” she added.

Awan said party representatives needed the party's umbrella under which they can challenge their opponents but "we are trying to survive without the umbrella of our party which creates hopelessness among party workers in the province".

“I have severe concerns regarding the policies of my leadership but I am still trying to resolve the issues in this regard,” Awan added.

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It is pertinent to mention here that former state minister Syed Sumsam Ali Bokhari and former provincial minister Muhammad Ashraf Khan Sohna announced to join PTI at the residence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in Bani Gala on Wednesday (yesterday).

When contacted, former provincial minister Muhammad Ashraf Sohna said that he had put his political career at stake after leaving the PPP due to the policies of the party leadership.

“Dozens of former MNAs of the PPP are in the process to join other parties like PTI while a former PPP state minister Tariq Anees will join PTI tomorrow,” he said.

Sohna warned that the PPP will be unable to find a person to award tickets to in the next general elections if the party leadership did not take steps to improve the position in Punjab.

Former federal minister and information secretary of the PPP, Qamar Zaman Kaira, while talking to Dawn.com, said the situation was very difficult for the party. "This is why some PPP leaders are feeling ‘weary’ in the present circumstances."

“The PPP had failed to win in the general elections of May 2013 and faced disappointment in by-elections held in different constituencies in Punjab. Those quitting PPP want to join the winners to secure their political future,” Kaira said.

Responding to a question regarding a possible change in the provincial setup of the party, Kaira said there was no plan in his knowledge to replace the provincial president Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo.

In response to another query, the PPP information secretary said anyone could abandon the party but ideological members will not shift their loyalties at any cost.

He said Samsum Bokhari only joined the PPP before the 2008 elections, while Ashraf Sohna was part of the Jamaat-i-Islami prior to 2002. Kaira also ruled out the possibility of former federal minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal joining the PTI in the near future.

The PPP secured 50 seats of the National Assembly from Punjab in the general elections of 2008 but it manage to win only three seats in the general elections of May 2013.

Sources also claimed that former parliamentarians of the PPP from Punjab including Sardar Salim Haider Khan, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan, Tariq Mahmood Bajwa, Malik Nawab Sher Waseer, Chaudhry Saeed Iqbal, Advocate Muhammad Ijaz Virk, Syed Inayat Ali Shah, Muhammad Tariq Tarar, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Muhammad Tariq Anis, Tariq Shabbir, Sajjadul Hassan, Liaqat Ali Khan, Hayat Ullah Khan Tareen, Chaudhry Iftikhar Nazir, Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal, Mehmood Hayat Khan, Dr Shabbir Ali Qureshi, Muhammad Moazam Ali Khan Jatoi, Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, Arif Aziz Sheikh and Javed Iqbal Warraich are in process of joining other parties in the upcoming days to secure their future with an eye on the 2018 general election.

Meanwhile, a senior member of the PTI said that the party leadership had been directed to contact "people with good standing", who are also financially strong, from other parties – especially the PPP – to get them on board.

When contacted, PTI MNA Arfif Alvi told Dawn.com that the presence of the PPP in Punjab was decreasing day by day while several PPP leaders were interested in joining the PTI in the near future.

Alvi also said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan had asked senior party members to use their contacts to get on board people from different political parties to strengthen the party in the country, with a focus on Punjab.