Three political personalities – this time from Gujranwala and Hafizabad – joined the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) on Saturday after meeting former president Asif Ali Zardari in the provincial capital.

Two of them – Chaudhry Ali Ashraf Warraich and Chaudhry Haris Miran – are from Gujranwala while Chaudhry Ansar belongs to the Jalalpur Bhatti an area of Hafizabad.

Mr. Zardari, who is also the PPP co-chairman, reached Lahore on Tuesday as the seasoned politician eyes inducting more and more politicians from Punjab amid the disarray the PTI is in while focusing on the upcoming general elections.

The PPP leadership aims at a strong comeback in Punjab – the country’s most populace province – after witnessing a decline in the party’s fortunes since the 2013 polls.

Earlier, several big names – including Rasool Bakhsh Jatoi, Qutab Fareed Koreja, Sardar Shamshir Mazari, and Mian Alamdar Qureshi – from southern Punjab opted to join the PPP ranks,

But the trend is not limited to Punjab as Usman Khan Taraka – a former MNA from Swabi – and Jawad Hussain – who was elected National Assembly member from Orakzai – also switched their affiliations to favor the PPP. Previously, they were part of the PTI.