After Benazir Zulqernain Tahir

Part-II

Interestingly, members from Aleem’s party, such as Ijaz Chaudhry and Mian Aslam Iqbal, who also belong to the Arain biraderi of Ayaz Sadiq, made concerted efforts to woo the Arain biraderi to vote for the PTI’s candidate.
On the other hand, there also exists an impression in Lahore that the Kashmiri biraderi votes for the Sharifs. In fact, as the Sharif brothers landed in Pakistan to contest the 2008 elections, fighting both time and retired General Pervez Musharraf, they adopted a strategy of dividing the biraderi vote across villages, towns and cities in Punjab.
Sharif’s rivals, the PML-Q, had put up candidates from various biraderis, and so,the Sharifs selected candidate from within the same clan to represent them. By cutting the biraderi vote in this manner, the Sharifs avoided being hit by biraderi blocs voting en-masse for their rivals.
But PPP leaders insist that the biraderi factor holds little sway when it comes to voting for the PPP.
“The biraderi factor cannot be ruled out in some cases, but the PPP has always gotten votes from the people because of its ideology and not because of clan associations. Past trends in elections also vindicate our stance,” argues Wattoo.
Biraderi also defines local government elections, because in rural settlements in particular, issues of courts and the police station can be better resolved by members of the same clan. Some PPP leaders argue therefore that the party could not make a comeback in local body polls or get candidates for elections since citizens usually prefer candidates of the party in rule, since they can use their influence and connections to have constituents’ thana-kachehri issues resolved quicker.
“Even the PTI, which claims to be the second biggest political force in the province, was routed in local body polls because of this factor,” contends a PPP leader.
The past is another party
The PPP’s showing in local government elections was dismal indeed but party loyalists are of the view that the damage has already been done and now is the time to do a repair job. Most are pinning their hopes on Bilawal; many party workers and some leaders have already encouraged him to distance himself from those responsible for the plight the party finds itself in today.
Those alluded to by veteran and loyal workers are Bilawal’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, and a bunch of men around him who called the shots when the party was in power between 2008 and 2013.
“The party leadership must thoroughly examine its mistakes and learn from them. It must evolve an accountability system within the party and show the door or partially distance itself from those who earned a bad name for it,” says activist Usman Malik.
During his last visit to Lahore earlier this year, Bilawal had agreed to form an accountability commission in the party on the demand of a number of workers. But this commission has yet to see the light of the day. A number of PPP bigwigs have been facing corruption allegations for several years, with some in the media labelling these characters as “synonymous to corruption.”
“We may not recover from this tag in future elections, and therefore, it is high time for the party leadership to declare a ‘crusade’ against corruption and corrupt elements within. We need to get rid of them if the party wants to bag votes from Punjab again,” contends a leader from south Punjab. His argument is that the PPP lost the 2013 general elections primarily on the perception of being a ‘corrupt party’ and not because of power load-shedding.
Meanwhile, the PPP’s student wing, the People’s Student Federation (PSF), lies dormant. Till the 1990s, the PSF was quite active in colleges and universities across Punjab, and churned out populist leaders such as Jehangir Badr. The state of other wings, such as women, labour and lawyers, is not different from that of the PSF either.
Rana Sultan, senior vice-president of the People’s Youth Organisation (PYO) pledges, however, that Bilawal’s “soldiers” will ensure that the youth wing is active once again. “The youth wing will be resurrected under the leadership of Bilawal,” assures Sultan.
But with great expectations also comes great responsibility. Some office-bearers and workers place the responsibility of the defeat in local government polls squarely on the shoulders of Bilawal.
“While PTI chief Imran Khan and the PML-N leadership were active in running the campaigns of their candidates, our leader was shying away from visiting Punjab. He did not even bother to hold a video conference to bolster the candidates’ campaigns,” says a party office-bearer, who wished not to be named.
“The party will repeat the same performance in the 2018 elections if it remains leaderless in Punjab. If Bilawal Sahib is keen to revive the party, he should better be among his workers and back his candidates.
This humiliating defeat in local body elections in Punjab should be enough for him to acknowledge that a major rethink of party policies is needed here,” he adds.
But while such notes of caution and pragmatism provide a dose of reality, Bilwal’s personality has been inspiring a feel-good factor and much confidence, at the very least, in terms of rhetoric, but at most, to bring disgruntled workers back into the fold.
Sajida Mir is a senior party leader who joined the disgruntled group of Nahid Khan and Safdar Abbasi sometimes ago having felt forsaken by the top leadership. But she is pinning all hopes on young Bilawal.
“If today, Bilawal announces running party affairs on his own, without the influence of his father, all estranged workers and party factions will love to work under him, like old times of Benazir Bhutto. Let me tell you, when some workers would get angry over some issue with the leadership, Mohtarma would placate them. But after her death, the gap between the workers and the leadership has widened and there is no one to listen to their grievances,” she says.
According to Mir, factors such as the bad perception of its top leadership with regards to corruption, poor governance and its complete failure to address the basic issue of energy crisis contributed to the party’s downfall in Punjab. But it wasn’t a dire situation, and things could be changed for the better.
“I want to give a message to Bilawal: embrace all workers and follow the footstep of your mother and grandfather. Say goodbye to the politics of your father and make a new team … And the party will be all set to make a comeback in the 2018 general elections. I promise,” concludes Mir.
Whether it was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Benazir Bhutto, the PPP has operated most successfully through the force of their leader’s charismatic personality. It is in this dynamic that the success and shortcomings of today’s PPP needs to be gauged: whose cult of personality will allow the PPP to reinvent itself?
Within the party, three centres of power exist: co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Feryal Talpur, and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. While the party operates today under the watchful gaze of the former two, senior leaders and veteran activists tend to argue that Bilawal’s personality needs to come to the fore if the PPP is to make a mark on national politics again, or indeed that of Sindh’s.
Much of this sentiment is derived because of distance between the party leadership and its cadre, which many claim has set in ever since Zardari assumed the reins of power.
With the rise of Zardari to the top slot, the core team in the leadership changed. Out went the tried and trusted comrades of Benazir and in came the tried and trusted friends of Asif Ali Zardari.     —DAWN
    Concluded

After Benazir Zulqernain Tahir

Part-II Interestingly, members from Aleems party, such as Ijaz Chaudhry and Mian Aslam Iqbal, who also belong to the Arain biraderi of Ayaz Sadiq, made concerted efforts to woo the Arain biraderi to vote for the PTIs candidate. On the other hand, there also exists an impression in Lahore that the Kashmiri biraderi votes for the Sharifs. In fact, as the Sharif brothers landed in Pakistan to contest the 2008 elections, fighting both time and retired General Pervez Musharraf, they adopted a strategy of dividing the biraderi vote across villages, towns and cities in Punjab. Sharifs rivals, the PML-Q, had put up candidates from various biraderis, and so,the Sharifs selected candidate from within the same clan to represent them. By cutting the biraderi vote in this manner, the Sharifs avoided being hit by biraderi blocs voting en-masse for their rivals. But PPP leaders insist that the biraderi factor holds little sway when it comes to voting for the PPP. The biraderi factor cannot be ruled out in some cases, but the PPP has always gotten votes from the people because of its ideology and not because of clan associations. Past trends in elections also vindicate our stance, argues Wattoo. Biraderi also defines local government elections, because in rural settlements in particular, issues of courts and the police station can be better resolved by members of the same clan. Some PPP leaders argue therefore that the party could not make a comeback in local body polls or get candidates for elections since citizens usually prefer candidates of the party in rule, since they can use their influence and connections to have constituents thana-kachehri issues resolved quicker. Even the PTI, which claims to be the second biggest political force in the province, was routed in local body polls because of this factor, contends a PPP leader. The past is another party The PPPs showing in local government elections was dismal indeed but party loyalists are of the view that the damage has already been done and now is the time to do a repair job. Most are pinning their hopes on Bilawal; many party workers and some leaders have already encouraged him to distance himself from those responsible for the plight the party finds itself in today. Those alluded to by veteran and loyal workers are Bilawals father, Asif Ali Zardari, and a bunch of men around him who called the shots when the party was in power between 2008 and 2013. The party leadership must thoroughly examine its mistakes and learn from them. It must evolve an accountability system within the party and show the door or partially distance itself from those who earned a bad name for it, says activist Usman Malik. During his last visit to Lahore earlier this year, Bilawal had agreed to form an accountability commission in the party on the demand of a number of workers. But this commission has yet to see the light of the day. A number of PPP bigwigs have been facing corruption allegations for several years, with some in the media labelling these characters as synonymous to corruption. We may not recover from this tag in future elections, and therefore, it is high time for the party leadership to declare a crusade against corruption and corrupt elements within. We need to get rid of them if the party wants to bag votes from Punjab again, contends a leader from south Punjab. His argument is that the PPP lost the 2013 general elections primarily on the perception of being a corrupt party and not because of power load-shedding. Meanwhile, the PPPs student wing, the Peoples Student Federation (PSF), lies dormant. Till the 1990s, the PSF was quite active in colleges and universities across Punjab, and churned out populist leaders such as Jehangir Badr. The state of other wings, such as women, labour and lawyers, is not different from that of the PSF either. Rana Sultan, senior vice-president of the Peoples Youth Organisation (PYO) pledges, however, that Bilawals soldiers will ensure that the youth wing is active once again. The youth wing will be resurrected under the leadership of Bilawal, assures Sultan. But with great expectations also comes great responsibility. Some office-bearers and workers place the responsibility of the defeat in local government polls squarely on the shoulders of Bilawal. While PTI chief Imran Khan and the PML-N leadership were active in running the campaigns of their candidates, our leader was shying away from visiting Punjab. He did not even bother to hold a video conference to bolster the candidates campaigns, says a party office-bearer, who wished not to be named. The party will repeat the same performance in the 2018 elections if it remains leaderless in Punjab. If Bilawal Sahib is keen to revive the party, he should better be among his workers and back his candidates. This humiliating defeat in local body elections in Punjab should be enough for him to acknowledge that a major rethink of party policies is needed here, he adds. But while such notes of caution and pragmatism provide a dose of reality, Bilwals personality has been inspiring a feel-good factor and much confidence, at the very least, in terms of rhetoric, but at most, to bring disgruntled workers back into the fold. Sajida Mir is a senior party leader who joined the disgruntled group of Nahid Khan and Safdar Abbasi sometimes ago having felt forsaken by the top leadership. But she is pinning all hopes on young Bilawal. If today, Bilawal announces running party affairs on his own, without the influence of his father, all estranged workers and party factions will love to work under him, like old times of Benazir Bhutto. Let me tell you, when some workers would get angry over some issue with the leadership, Mohtarma would placate them. But after her death, the gap between the workers and the leadership has widened and there is no one to listen to their grievances, she says. According to Mir, factors such as the bad perception of its top leadership with regards to corruption, poor governance and its complete failure to address the basic issue of energy crisis contributed to the partys downfall in Punjab. But it wasnt a dire situation, and things could be changed for the better. I want to give a message to Bilawal: embrace all workers and follow the footstep of your mother and grandfather. Say goodbye to the politics of your father and make a new team And the party will be all set to make a comeback in the 2018 general elections. I promise, concludes Mir. Whether it was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Benazir Bhutto, the PPP has operated most successfully through the force of their leaders charismatic personality. It is in this dynamic that the success and shortcomings of todays PPP needs to be gauged: whose cult of personality will allow the PPP to reinvent itself? Within the party, three centres of power exist: co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Feryal Talpur, and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. While the party operates today under the watchful gaze of the former two, senior leaders and veteran activists tend to argue that Bilawals personality needs to come to the fore if the PPP is to make a mark on national politics again, or indeed that of Sindhs. Much of this sentiment is derived because of distance between the party leadership and its cadre, which many claim has set in ever since Zardari assumed the reins of power. With the rise of Zardari to the top slot, the core team in the leadership changed. Out went the tried and trusted comrades of Benazir and in came the tried and trusted friends of Asif Ali Zardari. DAWN Concluded