The two very conspicuous rallies in Lahore by the PML(N) and the Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) show that the parties have simultaneously decided to flex their muscles in preparation for the 2013 elections. With the PML(N)’s rally resulting in being primarily focused on anti-Zardari slogans chanted through the city, it will be interesting to see whether the PTI’s rally is in fact a conscious effort so as to address the public concerns on the current situation of the country or merely an effort geared towards electoral gains.
What is slightly disconcerting in terms of the PML(N) is that they have called this rally primarily a protest against the ruling PPP with “Go Zardari Go” being its refrain. A rather compelling feature of this statement is the fact that the PML (N) is also one of the ruling parties within the country and they are actively protesting against the government and have used somewhat coarse language to indicate that if the president does not step down, he will be forced to. Issues such as health, law and order, education have to be brought into the equation and the PML(N) should have been questioned as to why they were protesting against the very responsibilities they themselves have sworn to uphold.
The main aspects the PML(N) rally protested were proclaimed to be inflation, corruption and electricity although they seemed a bit far from them. In terms of the economy, the PML(N) themselves have made feeble attempts to counter high prices. The price of vegetables and other goods are at an all time high and let’s not discount the fact that the rally itself caused shop owners to close all business for an entire day so that the progression may pass thorough the narrow streets from Nasir Bagh to Bhatti Chowk chanting anti PPP slogans in a supposed sense of camaraderie.
The issues of electricity is actually more of a federal rather than a provincial matter hence the protest for that particular aspect can be justified (even though loadshedding has been somewhat under control in the past weeks as opposed to the 10-14 hour outages experienced during the month of September). The PML(N) can also be given credit for managing the dengue outbreak and doing what was necessary to counter the epidemic. Shahbaz Sharif used the public’s positive sentiments about how his administration managed dengue to his advantage and actually stated that if he can defeat dengue, he could defeat Zardari as well. Hence, the PML(N)’s protest rally had the appearance of being like an ego battle with the PPP and PTI.
The PTI in its infancy has already achieved a lot. The following of the youth and the culmination of a clear political mandate has certainly set them on track to finally achieving something. It is, however, still a question as to whether the rally will amount to anything and prove the PTI’s point. The venue chosen by the PTI is fairly symbolic and historic but it is a very difficult area to utilise in terms of the impact to be generated. The last successful rally that did occur in that area was in 1986 upon the return of Benazir Bhutto; therefore, Imran Khan has to mobilise a mass of people to garner a dominating and impressive effect from the entire affair.
The PTI has gained a lot of support from the public, especially the youth. The youth vote is crucial to any party and early reports suggest that all major colleges and universities will be attending the rally today. Hence, the support in numbers might just turn up. The task at hand however for Imran is to effectively utilise the strength of the youth and translate that into an effective votebank for his party.
Imran Khan claims that he will sweep the upcoming elections and conclusively devour the ruling parties. There is an outside chance he might succeed but, if nothing else, his party may have a spoiler effect in the elections. It will finally be a test for the prevailing PPP and PML(N) to have some form of contention. The results might be more destructive for the PML(N) as opposed to the PPP.
The point of the rallies, however, is still a little difficult to digest. The traffic blockages and disruption of the public transport system caused by the PML(N) rally show that the party utilised the mechanisms available to them effectively. Reports suggest that today all public transport has been virtually impounded. In order to show their power in Punjab, the PML(N) have played their cards and it will be intriguing to see whether the PTI rally despite difficulties of the venue and lack of support from the Punjab government will have a positive outcome or both rallies were just a competitive drill of reactive politics.
