Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is all set to try and capture its lost footing in Punjab. The party had been in power for five years in the last tenure, but it did little to prove its mettle in governing the country or in re-establishing its power base in the largest province. By the time the PPP left office in January 2013, the country was heavily indebted, the energy crisis was at its peak and terrorism had spread its tentacles across the country. The party itself was in a shambles. It lost touch with its workers. The old-stalwarts were sidelined in favour of new entrants like Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, President of Punjab PPP Central, who is considered a stranger to the PPP and its ideology. Politics in Punjab was restricted to the Governor’s House. A general disenchantment in the party cadres resulted in the poor performance in the May 2013 general elections, the threat posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan notwithstanding. Still, in spite of all the negatives, the PPP is reckoned to be a party that has come of age because of the tenacity it showed to weather all kinds of political storms when in power. PPP’s politics of reconciliation has become the guiding light to thwart the undemocratic forces in the country today. The PPP, under the leadership of Zardari, has played a decisive role in the political upheaval surrounding the PML-N government. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) could have stolen the show had it not been for the PPP rallying behind the government. Being the largest opposition party in parliament, the PPP led the way for a united front against the undemocratic forces trying to destabilise democracy. Zardari was not favouring PML-N; his support was for the democratic process. He even earned opposition from within the party for this support, especially from Punjab, where the party had dwindled into a non-entity and any support to the PML-N meant a further decline.

However, the PPP has now decided to revive its lost status in politics, starting from Punjab. The revival means, first and foremost, rejuvenating the jiyala (committed worker) spirit in the PPP cadre and bringing back the estranged stalwarts centre-stage. This also means rethinking the induction of people like Mian Manzoor Wattoo as the Punjab leader of the party. Last but not the least, it also means understanding that the times have changed and slogans like Roti, Kapra aur Makan (food, clothing and shelter) or Kashmir hamara hai (Kashmir is ours) have lost their resonance. The decision of the PPP to rekindle the left inside the party is appreciable and perhaps is the only way for it to break away from the status quo syndrome, which has reduced the PPP to just one of the many parties jockeying for power alone. The task before the PPP is hard indeed. *