Babar thinks PPP can rise from the ashes

ISLAMABAD: Despite all odds and poor performance in the recently-held Cantonment Board local government (LG) elections, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar showed optimism that the PPP had the potential to bounce back to recapture its fast losing political space.

Talking exclusively to Daily Times, the senator said that the test of a party lies in free, fair and transparent elections and the PPP always demonstrated popularity whenever free and fair polls were held. About the poor performance in the recent LG polls and by-elections, he admitted that in some constituencies the PPP failed but this is part of electoral process and they accepted it.

To a question about the party’s internal rifts, Babar said that there is internal evaluation mechanism in the PPP and the party underwent through it periodically and the party’s issues addressed accordingly.

It is widely believed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a potent political force to replace the PPP; however he said the perception would be put to test in elections.

Political analysts feel that the ‘do nothing’ approach and failure to address the party workers’ concerns is making the PPP lose its ground fast to the PTI in Punjab and even in its stronghold Sindh.

They believed that the two-party system is definitely under stress since the phenomenal rise of the PTI on political horizons, but ironically the PPP leadership does not realise that fact so far.

They said that the situation called for bold politics, but the party leadership was acting otherwise, so if they did not play their cards well, things will really get tough and the party might face humiliating defeat in the forthcoming LB elections.