LAHORE – It seems hard for the PML-N to take all political and religio-political parties outside the ruling class, into the folds of the grand alliance of the Opposition parties which the Party President Nawaz Shaif had announced on the occasion of opening of the new PML-N Secretariat at Model Town.

Political analysts and the input obtained from the party sources has shed light on various factors impeding PML-N efforts for bucking up all parties on the Opposition side on a common platform.
The party head while directing his guns to the PPP in the speech, had overruled the possibility of getting into the Grand Opposition Alliance the parties and persons right now are propping up what he said the ‘corrupt and inefficient rulers’ in the Centre. 
He said coalition partners in the federal government were more responsible for the present milieu wherein rampant corruption of the PPP rulers is the order of the day.
His gesture smacked disenchantment on his part after he had many times voiced to the coalition partners to shun support to the PPP. His demand at that time seemed more of political move to take away backing of the partners to the PPP policies wherein Punjab government, as in the eye of the PML-N leadership, was the main target. On the eve of the presidential elections, the PML-N had sent delegation to the MQM and the JUI-F to woo them to its point of view which the party held about the PPP and its corruption but all in vain as MQM fully backed the PPP candidate and JUI-F showed it door by putting in its own presidential candidate in the election. Thereafter the PML-N appears to have drawn a line not to bank on the parties on the ruling side any more but on those which are on the Opposite side.
 However, odds lie on the way mainly for the reason the current stance of the PML-N is someone belated after many of the parties have made up their mind on the contesting next elections on their own strategy and in their own interest.
However all are not going on by the same frame of mind as certain others still have room to enter alliance, seats adjustment and electoral understanding which however is not likely to make any big difference for the PML-N from what was going on previous to Mian Sahib’s statement.
Right now the PML-N has worked out adjustment with Likeminded but their numerical strength can be readily assessed after 42 of the 51 claimed to have voted for Raja Pervez Ashraf for the prime minister slot. Sindh National Front of Mumtaz Bhutto has already merged into the N-league but the participation of only Mumtaz Bhutto in the Secretariat ceremony raised many questions as to the strength and support this party can lend.
The party can reach out to PPP (Sherpao) whose parliamentarian strength is just one member and more than that no miracle is expected of this party to the benefit of the N-league in the next election. In Balochistan, the party is negotiating with Qadir Mugsi, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and others, and Rasol Bux Pelejo in Sindh to struck understanding with them while groups and individuals support is being sought in southern Punjab and other provinces which the party believes would earn it electable candidates in the next election. As to the main party PTI, it hardly wants to enter alliance with any other party but is preferring electoral understanding that too with the nationalist parties in Balochistan and Sindh.
The PTI by and large is poised to take a solo flight and any bandweagon offering its service to it in the party view, will amount to desisting it from its policies which envision both PPP and PML-N sailing the same boat of corruption and inefficiency.
The PML-N had touched the PTI to elicit its agreement on naming a common candidate for the CEC but the former did not show much warmth to it which provides assessment as to where it places the mainstream parties.