LAHORE, Sept 10: PPP MNA from Bahawalnagar and its Bahawalpur division president Mian Mumtaz Matiana was nominated on Saturday as the ruling PML candidate to the seat of Bahawalnagar district nazim as he joined the party after resigning from his assembly seat.

Mr Matiana made the announcement to join the ruling PML during a meeting with Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi which was also attended by assembly members and leading political personages from Southern Punjab.

His nomination as the PML candidate was made also in view of a letter sent to the chief minister by the earlier PML-backed candidate Ali Akbar Wains who said certain members of the party were not happy with his selection for the slot.

He said he was a political worker and did not want a deadlock in politics therefore Mr Matiana should be invited to join the PML and nominated for the nazim’s office in his place. This would strengthen the party, also absolving him of the allegation of weakening it.

The chief minister said at the meeting the inclusion of Mr Matiana had fortified the PML and it would also help accelerate the pace of development in the district.

He said he and Mr Matiana had already worked together on the PML platform in 1985 and “I do welcome him on board with open arms.”

He said the resignation of Mr Matiana from the National Assembly reflected his democratic bend of mind.

PML MNA Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor said all the party leaders were united for the progress and development of the province under the leadership of the chief minister. He contradicted statements attributed to him regarding the nazimship of Bahawalnagar and said he was an old worker of the chief minister’s team and would continue to work for the promotion of the party.

Mr Wains announced his withdrawal from the nazimship and said he was doing so for the sake of the party.

The chief minister appreciated the gesture shown by Mr Wains and said by doing so he had set an example. His decision would strengthen the party.

Mr Matiana said he had joined the PML in the wider interests of the people of his district.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also announced the PML support for Tehmina Dasti, a candidate to the office of Muzaffargarh district nazim, Sardar Ibad Dogar (tehsil nazim), Sajid Naeem Qureshi (tehsil naib nazim), Jamal Leghari (Dera Ghazi Khan district nazim), Mehmood Qadir (tehsil nazim), Malik Rafiq Khar (Kot Addu tehsil nazim), Barrister Raza Khan Dareshak (Rajanpur district nazim) and Haji Nisar Ahmad (Naushehra Virkan tehsil nazim).