Campaign promises
Political campaigning is all about selling dreams. If the cry of roti, kapra aur makaan can be made with a straight face, then, who is anyone to laugh at an outlandish claim by newcomer PTI? There are subtle differences, however. The aforementioned PPP slogan is convenient in its vagueness, its timing. So are slogans calling for the establishment of an Islamist state by the religious or centre-right parties. The PTI’s slogans, on the other hand, lay down specific deadlines, unrealistically close, for the achievement of notoriously difficult objectives.
Imran Khan’s latest claim of halving corruption within nine days of coming into power is the latest in a series of outlandish claims. For those who claim the PTI leader genuinely means what he says, this statement would then reveal a rather tenuous grasp of reality.
Corruption is a deeply-rooted, endemic problem. One for which there really is no quick-fix. In fact, even extremely complex problems like religious militancy in the country could at least be grappled with much easier than corruption. How he thinks he can solve this problem in three months’ time is anyone’s guess.
As a key Maoist leader in Nepal, in a rare moment of candour admitted after coming into power, things were far, far more complicated than they appear to be from the outside. Governance is a tortuously difficult undertaking, with most solutions being trade-offs. A series of choosing this over that and bearing the fallout for what went wrong. Compared to running any tier of government, managing campaign rallies would seem like a cakewalk.
It is not all wrong on the PTI’s end, however. Having realised he can’t hold a candle to the other parties’ established electoral machines, he is focusing on untapped voter bases. A large proportion of those who will vote for him are expected to be first-time voters. That’s a service to democracy, then. Secondly, his announcement of polls within the party are a good idea. No position should go unelected. As opposed to popular imagination, his won’t be the only party that has internal elections. But it is still a good initiative.