Daily Times

The jalsa (rally) of October 30th is still talked about. There is good reason for it. It was the biggest gathering of people in Lahore since the return of Benazir Bhutto in the 80s. It was also a voluntary gathering and not prompted, bought or forced. Another plus, it was not a unisex collection — it was well represented by families and people who are more like leaders of thought and whose strength is not just as of one voter. It is irrelevant if there were one hundred thousand people or more or less. The important thing is that there was a large gathering, bigger than seen in recent years, and it conveyed a ‘message’.

The ‘message’ it conveyed was that the nation is ready for a ‘change’. It disapproves of the political mismanagement by the current setup. The nation may think of Imran as the harbinger of change, but it may not be its final decision. It may turn out to be a final decision of those exposed to the jalsa if the elements that have prompted the hope continue to exist. Some of the obvious elements of hope are Imran being free of corruption scandals so far, his track record as an achiever, however limited it might be, and, indeed, his personal appeal.

Achievement of success will need to be measured by assessing whether party members succeed in consolidating the advantage of getting serious attention or frittering it away. Do the party members realise what makes their party different from others? Unfortunately, not much evidence of that is available. Soon after the jalsa, an important office bearer of his party indulged in exactly the kind of mudslinging and shouting that members of other parties do. He narrowed the gap between the fresh look of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the rotten appearance of some of the old parties. While this gentleman accused another leader of being drunk all the time without any basis, he himself definitely proved to be intoxicated by the success of the jalsa. The jalsa reflects determined hard work of years and it can take little time in losing the impression. So Imran will need to pay some attention to harness the colts. Overestimating the benefits of the turnout can hurt. The people who appear in jalsas are no guarantee of an election victory. Even Benazir, in spite of crowd cheering, did not win an absolute majority. Elections are a complicated affair; the process reflects voters’ support in each constituency, and the old parties have deep rooted systems entrenched for manoeuvring. The results are often rigged and all kinds of temptations, personal exploitation, fear, peer pressure and arm-twisting, etc, are part of the corrupt election process. If a change is to come then work at this level is essential.

In addition to the caution against ‘success intoxication’, there are other matters to be dealt with carefully. Many splinter groups, particularly from the Right, would want to jump on to the bandwagon and try to get a share of power. If PTI wants to keep the ‘hope’ alive it must stay away from such infiltrations or alliances. PTI is known for its connections with an old party of the right wing. This party is attractive for some politicians for its disciplined work force, but its potential influence on the outlook of the PTI will change the concept of ‘change’ in public perception. So any such involvement needs to be very carefully thought over. Perhaps the best thing is to build your own disciplined work force of political volunteers. For political success on the ground, a huge amount of legwork is needed in addition to quality leadership. Imran says repeatedly that his is a party with an ‘ideology’. However, it is not clear what ideology or programme he is referring to. He has created hope by convincing people that he is serious about changing things, but he has not convincingly enumerated how is he going to bring about that change. His speech in this jalsa was reasonably balanced, but lacked depth. He maintained grace, which was positive and needs to be followed by his party members.

One of the most interesting aftermaths is an article in an important English daily. It goes into great detail to establish commonalities between PTI and the PML-N. Almost convincing. If it is so, then God help us. People may be in for a huge shock. The PML-N jaloos was a washout and once again provided more of what people are fed up of.

Another article in another English daily talked about PTI’s attraction for the progressive elements! Obviously the party line is not clear and that is why such opposite claims are being made. Imran Khan has been talking about all political issues without much discrimination. He has gained by riding the crest of any and all popular issues and got the attention he needed. But this policy has also confused the direction of the party. Where does he take his party from here will be the real challenge. Imran must remember that his strongest plank is anti-corruption and that is what he should focus on. If he joins the ‘corrupt’ then his game is lost.

What kind of ‘in-swinger’ is needed here is a decision to be taken by the captain. If he does not do it right, the voters are quite capable of hitting the ball for a six and sending it out of the field.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor