PPP will win elections even without level-playing field, says Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday claimed that his party has never been given a level-playing field or equal opportunities to run its campaign to contest the elections but it will win the upcoming polls despite all the odds.

"PPP will win the election this time even if there is no level-playing field," Bilawal said while complaining about the absence of equal opportunities for all political parties.

The former foreign minister's remarks came during a media talk in Karachi's Ibrahim Hyderi area.

Bilawal said that his party has a connection with the nation while the "others have special selection teams".

He further said that the PPP's stance has always been that the elections should be conducted.

However, the "others" narrative was different earlier compared to now, he added without naming anyone.

The PPP leader said that his party parted ways with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after the former ruling party compromised on its narrative of the "sanctity of the vote".

"As long as PML-N's narrative [remained] vote ko izzat do (give respect to vote), we worked alongside but when this narrative changed, staying together became difficult," he said.

Speaking about the newly-formed alliance between the PML-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the PPP's top leader said that both parties would suffer as a result of forging an alliance.  

The two parties on Tuesday announced that they would be jointly contesting the upcoming general elections — scheduled to take place on February 8, 2024.

As the time of general elections drew nearer, the rift between the former allies grew with the PPP persistently voicing concerns regarding the absence of equal opportunities to prove itself ahead of the polls.

With parties getting engaged in electioneering, the PPP believes that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was also being given preferential treatment as he returned to the country last month ending a four-year-long self-imposed exile in London, with all his legal hurdles cleared one after the other.

Last month, Bilawal — while addressing a public rally in Muzaffargarh — took a subtle jibe at the PML-N — by saying that it was "really a weird thing that a certain party had given the date for the election".