PPP fails to check desertions

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is helpless in checking steady departure of its senior leaders only from Punjab to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the deserters considering their new love as a safe bet in the next general elections.

The PPP is clueless about these floor-crossings over the past few weeks. The defectors did not find any attraction in the PPP any more to be in a position to win their seats in the forthcoming parliamentary polls. In Punjab, the PPP is unable to offer anything fascinating to keep this category of leaders in its fold.

As the exit of prominent stalwarts from the PPP goes on unabated, the party is apparently consistently giving the impression as if it is unconcerned about the exodus because it, and not the individuals, has the vote-bank and their leaving will not dent it. The PPP is hardly protesting or spewing ire on the PTI for nibbling at it. Instead of harshly reacting for being pushed to the corner by these defections, it is still busy bashing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and doesn’t talk about the damage being done to it by the PTI. The reasoning and logic behind this policy is incomprehensible.

The PPP’s subjective approach and argument apart, it is a fact that individual leaders, who have said goodbye to it, have their personal followings which, put together with the party’s votes, can produce victory or at least brighten their prospects. After nearly a dozen noted defections from the PPP to the PTI over the last few months, former Federal Law Minister Senator Babar Awan is the latest exit from it.

His official affiliation with the PTI was just a formality as he was very close to its chairman Imran Khan for a long time and was far away from the PPP. He was no more defending or speaking for the PPP at any forum and was having no interaction with its bosses.

The joining of the PTI by any PPP leader did not cause a storm in Imran Khan’s party. However, Babar Awan’s entry is going to certainly create a stir in it. As he will closely work with the PTI chief, also taking care of most of his court cases, he may give rise to jealousy in the party essentially the senior lot.

When Babar Awan had joined the PPP more than two decades ago, several party leaders had furiously reacted because of his political past. Their resentment touched new heights when he became extremely close to Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari. At one time he was number one confidante of Zardari as president of Pakistan. At the time, the hardcore PPP lot used to fume with fire.

Almost all the PPP leaders who have switched sides and associated themselves with the PTI have their home constituencies where they have been bagging a good number of votes in successive elections.

However, Babar Awan doesn’t have any constituency he can fall back on to contest election. He has never been a candidate from his native area of Kahuta. On the PPP ticket, he once fought for an Islamabad seat and lost. After that, he adopted the safe trajectory of indirect election to the Senate to land in the Parliament. His term expires in March next.

None of the defecting PPP stalwarts raced towards the PML-N because of the gloomy future their party is faced with. All of them have preferred the PTI precisely in the same fashion that was witnessed in 2011 when it had held its historic meeting at the Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore, which proved to be a turning point for it.

Former PPP federal minister Nazar Mohammad Gondal, who crossed over to the PTI last week, has stated that it was wrong to say that he or any of his colleagues has been prodded, persuaded or pushed by anyone to leave their party and join Imran Khan’s force. He said it was their independent decision to choose the political party of their liking.

If no PPP figure has joined the PML-N, none from the prime minister’s party has left it to associate himself with the PTI or any other political force. Similarly, no PTI leader has abandoned it to join the PML-N or any other party. Thus, the PML-N and PTI are maintaining unity in their ranks.

The PPP is not facing any such major problem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while it has a complete sway in Sindh where it is going to come out with an impressive performance in next elections. But in Punjab it has been badly swept away.