Has the PPP found its long lost Messiah?
Greatest in population among all four provinces, the battle for Punjab is a must win for any political party to take maximum seats in the Parliament.
With Bilawal Bhutto Zardari now in the driving seat, the PPP seems to have found its lost Messiah, a dynamic figure that could return the PPP and the Bhutto family to all its lost glory. Bilawal, since his induction into the PPP as the chairman back in 2008, following the sad demise of his mother, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and a political figure that millions looked up to, Benazir Bhutto, has come a long way.
From a boy who barely knew the local language to a politically astute young leader who now seems to have ignited, once again, the spark that for many is required to enlighten the path ahead for this country. This transformation of the PPP chairman has, all of a sudden, grabbed the attention of not just his political rivals and the media but the nation as well. In his early political days, Bilawal has taken on massively experienced players of the political battleground, challenging their policies, criticising the political moves, and presenting his action plans as opposed to them.
The PPP, after ZA Bhutto was hanged by military dictator General Zia, lost all hopes, and there was no light at the end of the tunnel for it, until the daughter, a Bhutto herself, made a comeback and took the political scenario by surprise. Bilawal, likewise, now appears to be the appropriate answer to the raising questions regarding the uncertain future of PPP and Bhutto’s legacy, and is ready to fill in the gaps created by the assassination of Mohtarma between the PPP and the masses.
For many, Bilawal is the messiah who will revive Bhutto’s lost legacy, and return PPP to its optimum political strength, and glory. Whether he is or not, time will only tell. One thing is for sure, he is a quick learner, and is catching up on his political rivals fast!
Better late than never
Bilawal has declared Punjab to remain the main hub of all his political activities till the next general elections due in 2018, and is already operating actively from this playing field. But why Punjab? Why not operate from their political stronghold? Why choose someone else’s stronghold as their playing field?
The point of origination of every political party remains the bastion for its political thought, and is easy to win over. In Pakistan, however, in order to gain political power and to form a national government, conquering Punjab and winning over its people is a mandatory political objective for every party.
Greatest in population among all four provinces, the battle for Punjab is a must win for any political party to take maximum seats in the Parliament.
With Sind as its stronghold, the PPP, under the leadership of both, ZA Bhutto and Bibi, continuously strived for spreading the political thought across Punjab, and to a great extent, won over the hearts and minds of the people there, and as a result formed the federal government thrice. During the last PPP tenure, however, Punjab remained ignored throughout, and lacked attention both administratively and politically resulting in a weakened political state there.
Bilawal’s declaration of Punjab as the center of his political campaigning, although coming late, is being looked upon by many analysts as a smart political maneuver, capable of providing PPP with a potential opportunity to re-group, re-organise, and re-strengthen itself in Punjab once again, as Sind till date, remains a PPP stronghold, and comparatively convenient to win over.
How meaningful would their lectures on promoting democratic values in the society be to the nation be if they themselves first do not promote the same democratic values within their parties?
Winning over Punjab can be a game changer for PPP in upcoming general elections of 2018.
Democratic favouritism
Merit in Pakistan, ironically, is over shadowed by favouritism, and personal liking. In mainstream democratic political parties even, the promotion of people on merit is desperately missing. The torch bearers of democracy are apparently always reluctant to hold elections within their parties, and selection over election has been the order of their day.
How meaningful would their lectures on promoting democratic values in the society be to the nation be if they themselves first do not promote the same democratic values within their parties?
The PPP, in-particular, remains unmatched when it comes to rewarding the favourites by killing democratic values. A large number of loyal political workers have chosen options for themselves other than the PPP, primarily the PTI, only because their services and sacrifices for the political cause of the party were not acknowledged by the leadership, which in presence of a democratic and transparent process to promote people to climb the hierarchical ladder in the party would not have been the case.
Going out of the way to provide so called democratic favouritism to a few selected ones must be abandoned, not just by the PPP, but the political parties as a whole, and democratic ways of rewarding people and bringing them forward into mainstream politics must be promoted.
Change begins at home, always!
So PPP now stands for….
Potential Political Presence is what the PPP now stands for, with young blood injected in its leadership role. A politically active and engaging PPP, under the leadership of a Bhutto, with Punjab as the epicenter of its political activities, and campaigning, is definitely a political force to be reckoned with.
Despite all odds, the PPP remains one of the largest mainstream political parties of Pakistan, owning a large base of political adherents, and even in its weakened state, it managed to win over the province of Sind. An elephant, after all, remains quite powerful even in its state of weakness.
Now that the party is reviving its political thought and activism, PPP holds great potential to emerge as a major political rival for PML-N and PTI, in-particular, and its comeback can impact the political scenario of the country in future.
With its revival, the PPP and the Bhutto legacy is far from diminishing, and will live on, and play its active part in the politics of Pakistan.
