LAHORE: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is readying itself for claiming its share (of support) from among the young voters in the general election following in the footsteps of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) that set the trend of mobilising the juvenile electorate.

It doesn’t believe that parties are dependent on ‘electables’ for power politics, arguing that the former develop the latter and not vice versa.

“We’ll be focusing on the young people in our electioneering by raising their issues like unemployment, higher fees and poor facilities at educational institutions, lack of career building opportunities, and waste of public money on useless schemes like laptop distribution by the incumbent government,” PPP central Punjab president Qamar Zaman Kaira says.

Issues of farmers and food security will also prominently figure in the election campaign as the party is giving final touches to its election manifesto for the purpose, he adds.

To mobilise its cadre for the all-important 2018 vote which the party will fight under the active leadership of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, workers, labour, youth and women conventions at district level are being planned.

Mr Kaira says that unlike in the 2013 vote when Bilawal and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari were unavailable for taking part in the electioneering for certain reasons, both of them will play their pro-active roles this time.

“The hologram technology has been and will be used to magnify the campaign otherwise the central leadership will physically go to every nook and corner of the country for mobilising party activists as well as mustering support of the masses,” he says in reference to the new mass communication technology introduced by the PPP in political arena.

He is not worried about abandoning of the party by the ‘electables’ during the last few years. He is confident that the PPP has multiple choices in the absence of big names.

“One doesn’t become [political] notable by birth rather a political party nurtures one to the status. The PPP enjoys the company of big names in each constituency though for the time being. They may not be as much known as those who have jumped our ship,” he says.

He is confident that the party will be able to launch candidates for each constituency in Punjab.

About the chances of his own departure from the PPP, Mr Kaira pledges to remain within the party folds till his last breath and that he won’t regret even if he loses the polls for not changing his political loyalties.

“I think that changing ones party is like changing ones mother.”

Responding to a query about presenting of the next year’s budget by the outgoing rulers, the former federal information minister objects that the PML-N government would be going beyond its five-year constitutional term by announcing financial plan for the sixth year.

He says the budget includes levy or withdrawal of taxes which may not be acceptable to the coming government. He suggests that the caretaker set-up to be formed after expiry of the incumbent government’s term next month, should table budget for four months and the job for rest of the eight months should be left for the new government.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018