Thousands of PPP workers from all over the country converged on Garhi Khuda Bux to observe the 14th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. It was a highly charged gathering. One after another, PPP speakers recounted the heroic struggle of their deceased leader from the Zia era to her death. The speakers also highlighted what they considered the contribution of the PPP during its stint in power. They promised to continue their struggle for democracy and the rights of the common man.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari refuted media reports about attempts by the P** leadership to broker a deal with the establishment. The reports had specially gained currency after some of ex-President Asif Zardari’s statements. The younger Mr Zartdari maintained that the PPP did not believe in undemocratic means and vowed to stand by the masses who are reeling under the PTI government’s anti-people policies. Time had come, he said, to confront the puppet regime of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He called upon the ’jialas’ to get ready for the struggle.
Talking about struggle indicates the failure of the policy of wheeling and dealing that the party leadership had earlier relied upon. Interestingly the PPP leadership wants to start its anti-PTI movement from Lahore where it failed to win even a single seat in the 2018 elections. Presumably it has been encouraged by the results of NA-133 where its candidate got many times more votes than in 2018 despite losing to the PML(N) ticket holder.
Mr Zardari has finally discovered that the electables in Punjab are more likely to join the party that can display street power and is likely to win the elections. Unlike Sindh where the names of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir still carry an emotional appeal, for most of the younger generation voters in Punjab they have little significance.
Mass contact campaign will provide an opportunity to the PPP to reach out to the common man in Punjab. Bhutto became popular because he had a programme that appealed to the people. What the opposition parties badly need are well-thought-out policies for improving the people’s livelihood. The parties also need to reach a consensus on basic economic policies and on how to deal with the rising extremism in the country. So far their reliance is solely on slogans
