Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari kicked off the anti-Sharif’ campaign in Punjab, leading his first ever protest caravan from Lahore to Faisalabad. Bilawal also confirmed, while addressing the participants of the procession that his party was still standing with its four-point demands that would be fulfilled, come what may. He also predicted that he would rid the nation of Sharifs this year, but the people should also take to the streets against the corrupt system prevailing in the country. The protest caravan started from Bilawal House located inBahria Town. PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira, Aitzaz Ahsan and Naveed Chaudhry accompanied PPP Chairman at the event. During the protest rally, Bilawal, much like his late mother Benazir Bhutto daringly opened the sunroof of his highly-protected vehicle and waved to the gathering and chanted slogans like ‘Go Nawaz Go’ and ‘Jaag Punjabi Jaag’. He also said that his rally had commenced and it would not stop now. As per schedule, the PPP Chairman delivered speeches at different spots on his route on the Sheikhupura-Faisalabad Road and strongly criticised the Sharifs’ government in the centre and Punjab province, saying that the rulers were guilty of increasing inflation, unemployment and poverty in Pakistan. Bilawal said that due to the shortfall of electricity and gas, industries were shutting down day by day. He said that rulers were busy in protecting their interests only and had no sympathy for the issues of the poor. He stated that the problem of load shedding of gas for the industries could easily be solved if the Sharifs implement the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project started in former President Asif Zardari’s era. Bilawal has brought a fresh breath of air for the arguably the first democratic party in Pakistan. The torch of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s message was carried forward by her daughter, late Benazir Bhutto, who had sacrificed her life for the democratic cause. Following her death in 2007 the party was essentially left without leadership. Although Asif Ali Zardari and other PPP leaders tried their best to fill in the void. This new wave has the potential to reignite the message of “Democratic Socialism” among the masses that the party strives for, and in Bilawal, the party has a boisterous, young, and educated leader to spread the message in masses against the corrupt leadership of the country. The democratic cause that his mother and maternal grandfather strived for has been eroded by the vested interests of politicians and the dictators. Moreover, the PPP has a clear manifesto in the shape of what it believes and strives in, instead of other parties who have hardly stayed true to their pre-election campaigns. There is a need forstrong activism in Punjab, which was once the stronghold of PPP. The connection between leader and the people at the local level needs to be revived, and the rally from Bilawal surely have glimpses of that charisma of his ancestors. *