LAHORE, Sept 15: The fight between the Founders and the PIAF-Founders Alliance for the eight executive committee (four chamber class and as many associate class) seats of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is going to be a tough but interesting contest in the chamber’s electoral history.
The polling is scheduled for Sept 24-25.
Although both the rivals claim that they would pull off with a big majority in what many bill as make-or-break election for the two rivals, they stand equal chances of winning unless a wave of popularity actually sweeps either to power.
“Either group winning the election with a majority is going to rule the chamber for years to come,” maintains a businessman, who adds: “Neither group has fielded candidates who could guarantee a sweeping victory for their respective panels.”
A lot depends on the ability of the two groups to muster panel support and votes for their candidates to make up for the compromises they are said to have made on the choice of some of their candidates. “This is precisely why both the groups began canvassing long before the selection of their candidates,” says an official of the LCCI.
He says the (election) campaign this year is going to be the longest and most expensive affair in the chamber’s history. Both the rivals are arranging sumptuous lunches and dinners to muster the support of voters, especially the fence sitters. Each rival is trying to assemble a larger gathering at its lunches and dinners in order to show strength to the opponents. Large banners hung across streets and roads in the markets and vehicles displaying the posters of candidates are seen everywhere in the city.
In the last few years, the chamber elections have become quite an important event for the local businessmen. Until 1997, all executive members of the chamber were nominated by an elite committee consisting of past presidents of the chamber whose decision would be final. The office-bearers would also be chosen by the same committee. No-one ever dared challenge its decisions and if someone wanted to rise in the “business politics” of the city, he would have to seek the blessings of the past presidents.
Though many resented this “undemocratic” arrangement, none would step forward to challenge the committee or its decisions to avoid the wrath of the influential past presidents.
In 1997, however, the situation changed when several small and medium industrialists from Township Industrial Estate and smaller traders got together and formed the PIAF to “challenge the ruling elite” which they claimed had been denying them their due share in the chamber politics for decades.
They were angry because they believed that the chamber was being used by the big businesses to advance their own interest and obtain concessions from the government. They did raise this issue and won six out of 18 seats in the 1997 election held after two years. Their victory stunned the past presidents who started to ponder ways to counter the new rising opposition as the PIAF members played quite an active role at the chamber’s meetings.
“The task of countering the PIAF was assigned to me,” says Pervaiz Hanif, now the leader of the Founders. “I was allowed a free hand.” He used this freedom very cleverly to bring new faces from different trades and businesses in the next two elections and wiped out the PIAF in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, the PIAF won just one seat and in the two following elections it was completely washed out.
However, his critics claim that it was the result of a “team work” which led to the elimination of the PIAF from the scene and it was unfair to give credit for the success of the group to one or two persons.
Pervaiz was elevated by the presidents’ committee as senior vice president of the chamber in 1998 and president in 1999. It was in 2000 when the things once again went wrong. The ruling group split and Pervaiz formed his own group with the name of the Founders.
Several factors are stated to be the cause of the split. The opponents of Pervaiz claim that he was angry due to the chamber’s refusal to endorse him for the chairmanship of the FPCCI. The LCCI had nominated another former past president Iftikhar Ali Malik for the office of the country’s apex trade body.
Pervaiz’s supporters deny this allegation and claim that the “undemocratic and insulting attitude of the elite club” with some EC members (thought to be close to Pervaiz) had led to the split. They say Pervaiz was never a candidate for the chairmanship of the FPCCI as stated by his opponents.
Whatever the reasons, the past presidents suffered a severe blow as a consequence of the split.
In 2001, the Founders formed an alliance with the PIAF and won six out of nine seats to raise their numerical strength in the executive committee to 13. The alliance was also helped attain this number by a sitting member who switched over to it at the last moment. As the two groups had equal number of EC members on their respective sides (because of a court order which stayed the election to the trade groups seat), the president was chosen through toss. The Founders-PIAF Alliance won and its candidate was elected as president. The senior vice president was taken from the Founders Group (the president’s club) as a compromise and the things moved on.
In 2002, however, the alliance managed to completely wipe out the Founders Group by sweeping the election. The Founders Group could manage to win just one out of nine seats. But the two partners in the Founders-PIAF Alliance did not get along for long and developed differences. The PIAF attributes emergence of differences to undemocratic attitude of its partner and efforts of self-projection on the part of some of the incumbent chamber office-beares. The Founders claim that the PIAF had been in contact with their opponents for several months to blackmail it into surrendering a greater share of seats in the forthcoming election 2003.
Whatever the factors behind the split, it is surprising to see the PIAF join forces with the Founders Group against whose hegemony it had challenged some years back. It is also intriguing to see the past presidents’ club to accept the PIAF, whom they used to look down upon, as their partner and contest the election from the same platform. It may be mentioned that the new alliance has a PIAF leader, Anjum Nisar, as its first chairman. The new arrangement has made many supporters of the Founders Group, including some important and influential businessmen, to stay away from the coming elections as they are reported to be unhappy about the deal.
The Founders has also made a departure from the “democratic principals” it used to boast of. One such example is pre-election announcement of Pervaiz Anwar Sheikh as its candidate for the office of president.
On the other hand, the alliance is yet to give its candidate for the top slot. Though the alliance leaders claim that it has been intentionally done to introduce democratic traditions in the chamber politics, its rivals say there are too many candidates for the job who may spoil the broth.