- The commonality and differences
The lists of party candidates issued by the PTI and PPP indicate the two parties which claim to be agents of social change have in fact turned into parties of the status quo.
About 45pc of the PTI candidates are turncoats recruited from a variety of parties that include PML-N, PPP and PML-Q. Some of them specialise in joining parties when these are in power, get all the benefits they can, then jump ship to join the next party that is likely to win the elections. Imran Khan had vowed to put to an end to the old style politics with the help of what he called his own team of players that he had trained over a period of twenty years. The team has been replaced with political heavy weights recruited from other parties who have one thing in common i.e., political infidelity. Some of the electables who have been inducted with fanfare could in fact turn out to be spent rounds
The PPP has so far issued the list of its candidates from Sindh only which constitutes the party’s largest support base. The overwhelming majority of its nominees from interior Sindh comprises feudal elite and their relatives. It appears from the list that attempts to win over dissidents and influential turncoats have also paid off. With this type of team in power, what one can hope for is more of the same during the next PPP tenure in Sindh.
Two important factors differentiate the PPP nominees from those of the PTI. One, despite the PPP list being dominated by feudal elite known for their predatory tendencies, most of those issued tickets are time-tested PPP stalwarts that the leadership can rely upon. On the other hand a large number of the new entrants in the PTI are constantly on the lookout for pastures new with no sense of party loyalty. Second, the lists show that the PPP gives more importance to women workers than the PTI. The PPP has issued tickets to 12 women on open seats from Sindh alone as compared to six by the PTI from the entire country.
