ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif are expected to meet in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the poll boycott issue amidst strong signs that the PML-N might participate in the Jan 8 election.

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif has convened a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board in Islamabad on Tuesday to finalise tickets for the candidates, indicating a turnaround in the party’s earlier stand of poll boycott.

Sources in the two parties told Dawn that Mr Sharif contacted Ms Bhutto and told her that he would meet her in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the poll boycott issue.

When contacted, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said a meeting between Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif would be held on Monday. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar, although confirmed reports of the meeting between the two leaders, said it might take place either on Monday or Tuesday.

Sources in the PML-N told Dawn that there was a large group of members, including party president Shahbaz Sharif, who was constantly pressuring Mr Nawaz Sharif to reconsider his poll boycott decision.

The sources said that a small group of party leaders led by Nawaz Sharif himself wanted the PML-N to boycott the elections to express solidarity with sacked judges, who had refused to take the oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) after the imposition of emergency on Nov 3.

Those arguing in favour of the participation in the polls are of the view that the party should not leave the field open for its rivals as people have great expectations from Nawaz Sharif after his return to the country. Moreover, they believe that after the refusal of the major parties, including the PPP, JUI-F and the ANP, to boycott the polls, it would be an unwise decision to stay out of the election process.

A senior PML-N party leader told Dawn on condition of anonymity that there was now no justification for the party to stay out of the election after President Musharraf had quit the office of the Chief of the Army Staff, and promised to lift the emergency and the PCO on Dec 16.

He claimed that according to findings of recent national and international surveys, Mr Sharif was on top of the popularity graph, especially in the Punjab province his party had bright chances of sweeping elections.

He said Mr Sharif had no confidence in himself and he was afraid of participating in the polls as the party had not got enough time to fight the election.

The PML-N leader said it was true that the party had not even finalised the names of candidates and, at present, it did not seem to have strong candidates in most of the constituencies. He expressed the hope that the people could give a big surprise to Mr Sharif, if Mr Sharif changed his decision and participated in the election.

The PML-N leader asserted a large number of the PML(Q) members, in contact with the PML-N leadership to join the party, had now adopted a wait-and-see policy due to indecisiveness of Mr Sharif on the issue.

The sources said a group comprising Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Raja Ashfaq Sarwar was in favour of boycotting the polls, whereas the other group led by Shahbaz Sharif and Raja Zafarul Haq wanted the party to contest the election.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Haq said that at a recent meeting the party members had given strong arguments in favour and against the poll boycott decision, forcing Mr Sharif to postpone the final decision till Dec 15.