Hegemonic Power

Despite widespread disdain, the PPP maintains its position as Sindh’s leading political party

KARACHI: Despite poor performance in the aftermath of massive floods and continuous scathing attacks on the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), it (the PPP) will persevere and keep gliding above the fray in the future as it continues to garner support in the interior parts of Sindh because of the charismatic and towering figures of PPP late founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and PPP assassinated Chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Through the powerful slogan “Roti, Kapra, aur Makan” (Bread, Clothes, and House), ZA Bhutto is still popular and famous for his numerous works benefiting and raising the living standards of common people. On the other hand, because of social and health programmes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the Lady Health Workers (LHWs) Program, and others, Benazir Bhutto remains a popular leader among the people. People are obsessed with the pair, and because of a lack of alternatives and the substantial pressure and influence of landlords and sardars (chieftains) in their towns, they remain in support of the PPP.

Although many people can barely conceal their dislike for the PPP, and despite widespread disdain among educated and deprived people in the province, the PPP succeeds in positioning itself as the number one party and gaining the trust of people in rural Sindh. As a matter of fact, the PPP has grown in popularity since the days of Z.A. Bhutto.

Following the floods, the PPP-led Sindh government launched a slew of rehabilitation and relief initiatives, including an ambitious project to rebuild two million houses destroyed by the recent rain-flood disaster, as well as financial assistance to farmers.

So far, no political party has emerged in rural Sindh to challenge the PPP. Nationalists are divided into factions and have failed to form a united front to garner public support. The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) is regarded as a collection of feudal lords and peers, similar to the PPP.

In rural Sindh, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have not organised. However, politics is the art of possibilities, and perhaps the announcement of elections will spark an election alliance to give the province’s ruling party a run for its money. The PTI has the best chance if its leaders shift their focus to rural Sindh and work with the educated middle class, which is tired of the feudal leadership of the PPP and GDA showing genuine interest in issues of concern to Sindhis.

It is not a matter of personal preference. People in Sindh have no choice due to a lack of competitive options.

Moreover, the national performance of political parties has not been significantly different. According to the public, no political party has performed well at the federal or provincial levels. People in KPK saw PTI outperforming previous provincial administrations and decided to give it another chance. They will add a third term because they have something to compare it to. Sindh’s people lack a comparable party. Sindh’s successive governments, whether PPP or non-PPP, have failed to deliver since 1988.

As usual, the PPP will maintain its monopoly on power and dominate Sindh politics.

“The PPP has skillfully combined Sindh nationalism and nationalist politics. The PPP plays on Sindhis’ raw nerves, highlighting issues such as the province’s geograhical integrity, irrigation water theft, Sindhi language promotion, dam construction, and so on. It instils fear in Sindhis in the interior and rallies them against real or imagined enemies of their homeland, much to the chagrin of other national political parties,” said senior political analyst and former ambassador Mohammad Alam Brohi, who is well-versed in Sindh’s political dynamics.

He claimed that the PPP is Sindh’s oldest political party, with charismatic Bhutto names that evoke emotional responses among Sindhis due to their martyrdom.

He stated that, while the people have lost much of their affection for the current PPP, led by PPP co-chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari, they have no other choice. He claimed that the PPP has strengthened the patron-client system of politics by granting official patronages to clients (voters) through their local leaders in exchange for their eternal loyalty. This system must be dismantled, abolished, and replaced by the implementation of social justice, economic equity, and the rule of law.

“The upcoming 2023 general elections will bring about a significant change because the rural population is distraught and upset due to the failure and ineptitude of the PPP-led Sindh government. Foreign aid vanished without assisting the poor and needy flood victims. Because of the public’s growing rage, elected PPP representatives were unable to visit the affected areas, as this is the first time that social media representing all strata has erupted against the PPP. People are aware of the facts and the incompetence of PPP.”

“In fact, the establishment gave seats to the PPP in the 2018 elections to control PTI chairman Imran Khan because of his stubborn attitude,” said Sardar Abdul Rahim Khan, general secretary of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) Sindh and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) information secretary.

Eminent nationalist and Sindh Tarraqi-Passand Party (STP) chairman Dr. Qadir Magsi said that the ruling of Sindh ate up all development funds and foreign aid for victims while drowning poor farmers, their livestock, and their properties. He added that it is also attempting to maintain power for the next five years.

“First, in order for the PPP to maintain its mandate, the Islamabad establishment serves as a facilitator. Second, Sindh is an agricultural society dominated by landlords, who are staunch supporters of the PPP. It may continue to dominate Sindh politics in 2023, but if nationalist democratic parties are given a level playing field, they can challenge the PPP and provide a viable alternative,” he stated.

People are afraid of the PPP, according to PTI founding member and senior leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi, who said that if this fear is dispelled, the PPP will suffer the same fate as the MQM in the interior of Sindh.

“Zardari sahib is skilled at changing the loyalties of winnable electables in rural Sindh through money and influence, but he fails to do so in urban Sindh. PPP will not be able to establish the federal government in the next ten years, and we will profit from its inadequacies. The establishment gerrymandered seats for the PPP in the 2018 elections, and the 2023 elections will transform the PPP’s position as Sindh’s young population supports the PTI,” he stated.

PML-N senior leader and former senator Nehal Hashmi maintained, “The PML-N could not work in Sindh because of political victimisation by the previous PTI-led federal government, when PML-N activists were forced to disassociate from the party or remain silent about politics.”

According to Hashmi, people from the interior of Sindh like PPP because of the legacy of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, and above all because PPP has ruled Sindh for years.