KP PPP head blamed for defeat in LG polls

PESHAWAR: The office-bearers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the three tehsils in Nowshera district have held the party’s provincial president Najmuddin Khan responsible for the crushing defeat in the recently held local bodies’ elections.

Speaking at a press conference, PPP Nowshera tehsil president Malik Hidayat, Pabbi tehsil president Mohammad Ilyas, Jehangira tehsil president Najeebullah Khattak and district secretary information Falik Naz Khan said the decision to dissolve the party organization in Nowshera, Charsadda, Buner and Peshawar city was based on malafide intention.

The PPP leaders observed that the provincial president did not run the election campaign for the party candidates in 16 districts except Peshawar and that was the main cause of the party’s defeat in the first phase of local bodies’ elections.

They said the parliamentary board for the local bodies’ elections neither held any meeting nor conducted interview for the party candidates for different seats.

They said that for the first time no programme was organized to mark the death anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The provincial president, they said, had openly told the workers that the philosophy of Bhuttoism had ended and the party had no ideology. They said he had been telling the workers that the party needed wealthy and electable candidates instead of dedicated activists.

They said this attitude was beyond the comprehension of the workers, who were confused as to whose agenda the provincial president was following.

The PPP office-bearers said the unconstitutional decisions of the provincial president forced the sincere and dedicated workers to quit the party. They said the provincial president made the election alliance without taking them into confidence. They recalled that Syed Iftikhar Ali Shah contested the election as an independent candidate and instead of issuing a show-cause notice to him for violating party discipline the provincial president inducted him in the organizing committee.

They said senior party leader Gohar Inqilabi resigned in protest against decisions of the provincial president. They demanded the resignation of the provincial president for violation of the party discipline and taking decisions without taking the workers into confidence.

They asked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to take notice of the dismal performance of the party in local government elections and concentrate on reorganizing the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said the situation in the second phase of the local bodies’ elections would not be different from the first phase if proper attention was not given to reorganize the party and redress the grievances of the workers.