The rejection seems to be unexpected for workers in the background of events for the past three months when the party launched a systematic media campaign for the return of party chairperson to the country and symbolising it with a new change in the politics of the country.
The projected meetings of a senior party leader with President Musharraf and subsequently changing of the nomenclature of the party from the PPP to the PPP Parliamentarians for taking part in the elections had further strengthened this impression.
These events revitalized the party and gave a great moral boost to activists and revived the “popular image of the party”.
Undoubtedly, the party had played well the card of “the return of party’s self-exiled leader” with the cooperation of a sympathetic national and international media.
The campaign was launched systematically despite the fact that the army chief-cum-president had categorically made it clear on many occasions that there was no room for the politics of both the former premiers and they would not be allowed to return to the country.
Observers believed that both the premiers had played the “nomination card” to embarrass the government and boost the morale of their party workers.
However, rejection of nomination papers of the PPP chairperson proved a great setback to party workers as there was no other charismatic personality in the party who could attract the crowd.
This situation had caused a great frustration among party workers who had become active after a long time.
A meeting of PPP Karachi division was held here under the leadership of Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra to discuss the situation being faced by the party after the rejection of nomination papers of Benazir Bhutto.
The meeting was attended by a large number of workers who raised slogans in favour of the party’s chairperson and wanted the leadership to make an announcement for a protest campaign.
According to a party source, the emotion-charged workers declared that if the senior leadership failed to do so, nobody could stop them from launching a protest.
Some leaders tried to calm them down, but they continued to raise slogans in favour of the chairperson and declared they would not accept any polls without their party chairperson.
The source said the workers later walked out from the meeting in protest.
A senior party worker in former Karachi South said: “No doubt the decision has put the party in a great trial and I do not know what course the senior leaders will adopt.”
According to him, if the party decided to boycott the polls, it will face the post-Junejo-era-like situation when the party boycotted the polls held by the army regime of Gen Zia-ul-Haq.
Considering the changed situation, he suggested that the party must take all the factors into consideration while making a final decision.
He admitted that under the present circumstances, no party was in a position to launch a movement as the people were fed up of the agitational politics and no party was in a position to do that.
He said the PPP workers had made sacrifices for the sake of party and they would continue to do in the future also whenever a call is given.
Another senior worker opposed the suggestion that the party should boycott the polls because it would isolate the party from the masses and it would be deprived of a representative position.
He suggested that the party must fight the army dictatorship in all the forums and continue its struggle till the end of the dictatorship.
Some observers say the rejection of nomination papers of the PPP chairperson had, no doubt, created disillusionment among workers, but the situation will not last long.
They believed that despite the fact the leaders of both the major parties would not be in the race of election, they would continue to be the moving spirits of their respective parties.
According to them, the recent events in the country had amply proved that they continue to influence the course of the country’s politics despite the fact they remained far away from it.