LAHORE, Feb 9: After slamming the party doors on the Chaudhrys of Gujrat and stung by continuous bickering with the PPP, the PML-N has decided to do what it has avoided so far, i.e., to increase the number of PML-Q ‘deserters’ to turn its forward bloc into a majority party to avoid defection clause and keep them as an insurance against any future threat to its government in Punjab.

As first step to its what appears to be a hazardous political journey, it convened the long-demanded meeting with the forward bloc and discussed “all issues being faced by the group,” which, according to its leader, Atta Maneka, still enjoyed the support of 37 members – yet five short of attaining majority and formally joining hands with the PML-N in Punjab.

The PML-N, however, denied making any such commitment, saying it could not be cast in the role of one “encouraging, causing or facilitating defections” in any party. If people wanted deserting their leadership, it would be their own decision, it maintained.

Zulfikar Khan Khosa, Hamza Shahbaz and Capt Muhammad Safdar (retired) represented the PML-N in the meeting attended by Maneka and the rest of members of the bloc.

“The PML-N leadership has assured the bloc that it will be delivered five more members within this week to prove its majority in the provincial assembly and lay claim on the slot of leader of the opposition,” one of the participants of the meeting later told Dawn.

The PML-N has now taken the final plunge; it always knew that its political safety lied with the forward bloc but it was avoiding the adventure to escape the PPP anger. The political cost of pampering the PPP had begun to dawn on the PML-N and it had “decided to put an end to speculative pressure on number game,” he insisted.

The colleagues from the forward bloc had always been maintaining that the PML-N must move deal with situation in its own way, Maneka said.

Monday’s meeting had wider agenda, which included backlog demands by the members including their foremost desire that they be treated as part of the ruling coalition.

The matter of numerical strength of the bloc also came up under exhaustive discussion and it was decided to deal with the issue “inappropriate manner.”

He said three of 37 members were out of the country and one was away to take care of his ailing son and the rest 33 members attended the Monday meeting. Once the group gets to the required strength, it would move to get its leader elected as the leader of the opposition.

With the disqualification of Azam Chela from Jhang, the MPL-Q numbers had dropped to 83 and the group enjoying support of 42 would be considered majority party in the house to clinch the slot, he added.

Zulfiqar Khosa, who also looks after the coalition affairs for the PML-N, said that the onus of increasing their numerical strength lied with the leader of the forward bloc. “We really do not know how the PML-N could be cast in the role of facilitator to raise their numbers,” he added.

Conceding that increase in the numbers to the required level would help the PML-N ward-off speculative pressure and strengthen its position viz-a-viz coalition partners, he said the party would not break the rules of good governance for the sake of increasing their number.

If the forward bloc, which the PML-N calls unification group, leadership raised its numbers remaining within the “limits set by the chief minister,” the party would not have any objections.

“The decision of increasing numbers or not is the desire of the unification group, not that of the PML-N,” he insisted. If more people wanted deserting their leadership on their own, it would be their decision, not of the PML-N, he maintained.