LAHORE: Setting a period of two years to reorganise the party, especially in Punjab, PPP Co-Chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari has directed its provincial president Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo to begin the workers’ convention in every district of the province.

Mr Zardari wants a complete restructuring of the party before he and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari launch “political campaign” in Punjab after two years. Believing the war on terror will be the main focus in the next two years with politics on the back burner, Mr Zardari thinks the PPP should utilize the period for strengthening it at the grass roots level.

Mr Zardari faced criticism from the party workers during his recent visits to Lahore for not doing “politics of opposition” and the vacuum created in result of that has been filled by Imran Khan’s PTI.

Asks Wattoo to hold workers’ convention in each district

Besides, Mr Zardari is finding it hard to satisfy the workers over Bilawal’s ‘disinterest’ in the party politics. The workers consider the PPP chairman a ‘last hope’ for the revival of the party, especially in Punjab, but they are perturbed over the reports of differences between the father and the son. Bilawal has been in London for the last two months and he was conspicuous by his absence on the party’s foundation day and the death anniversary of his mother (Benazir Bhutto).

“Make full use of the planned conventions in all districts of Punjab to mobilise the party. The provincial president must maintain close liaison with the party workers in every nook and corner of Punjab and use the occasion of district-wise conventions to tell the workers about the party policies, listen to their views and address their grievances, Mr Zardari said in a directive to Mr Wattoo on Tuesday.

“I also call upon the workers to participate in these conventions and express your views candidly on all issues, local, national or about organisational matters,” he said.

Mr Zardari also directed Mr Wattoo to fill the vacant party offices at the union council. “Completion of the party organisation up to the level of union council is also of utmost importance and must be undertaken at the earliest”, he said and asked him to submit him reports of the conventions periodically.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Mr Zardari, said: “The former president is keen to revitalise the party at the grass roots level throughout the country and the holding of conventions at district levels is the first step in this direction.

Later, district level conventions will also be held in other provinces.

PPP senior leader Navid Chaudhry told Dawn that Mr Zardari wanted to reorganize the party at union council level setting a perfect platform for Mr Bilawal to do active politics in Punjab at a suitable time. “Mr Zardari is making a base in Punjab for Mr Bilawal. By doing this exercise the PPP chairman will have the data of each worker at union level.

Besides, Mr Bilawal will use the medium of social media to have interaction with the workers,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2015

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