Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) scheduled rally for November 21 may change the political landscape of interior Sindh with a large number of disgruntled PPP 'Jiylas' mulling attending the jalsa. Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a political analyst, said that his "tentative" judgement is that the jalsa in Larkana is a positive and successful political move on the part of Imran Khan and PTI to reach out to Sindhi masses.
"I do not believe that PPP vote bank is any more there as only elite families of Sindh like the PPP and the poor masses are not happy with Asif Ali Zardari," he said. Nadir Akmal Leghari, PTI provincial president, told Business Recorder that "millions" of people from different parts of Sindh would participate in the PTI public gathering in Larkana, the stronghold of Pakistan People's Party (PPP). And there would be a massive attendance at the jalsa, he added; in spite of arrests of a number of PTI workers and various hurdles created by the Sindh government.
"The Sindh government has been arresting PTI workers for the last few days to thwart attendance at the Larkana jalsa but their undemocratic move would go in vain and millions of people would still take part," said Leghari. People will come to attend the jalsa because of Khan's charisma and their faith, Leghari said. Preparations are in full swing for a PTI public rally and party workers have set up a stage and decorated the venue at Ali Abad area of Larkana with Imran Khan's pictures and banners, he said. Laghari said the district administration has given permission for the rally. "It is now responsibility of district administration to provide security to PTI's chief Imran Khan and participants of the rally," he said.
Talking to Business Recorder over the phone, Senator Taj Haider of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said that holding a public gathering is the democratic right of every political party. He added that public gatherings are part of a political process and PPP fully supports rallies by all political parties. He said that the PPP is a liberal and democratic party and will not oppose any political process. In response to a query, Senator Haider said that there is a segment of disgruntled workers in every political party but ideological workers of the PPP will always remain associated with the party. A PPP worker would never leave the party to join the PTI as PPP's ideology, the Senator stated, is different from PTI's.
Taj alleged that Taliban and secret agencies are supporting the PTI. He said that PPP could not run its election campaign in 2013 while PML-N and PTI had the support of Taliban and they ran their campaigns freely. Talking to Business Recorder about PTI public gathering in Larkana, PPP Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said some disgruntled PPP workers may join the PTI public gathering in Larkana on November 21, 2014. "Let wait and see the event," he said, adding that PTI public gathering would not affect the vote bank of PPP (citing the example of former PPP leader Dr Safdar Abbassi who contested elections last year from Larkana but lost to a PPP candidate); while political awareness would grow among the people in the aftermath of such a gathering. Babar said that his party would engage in political activity subsequent to the PTI's Larkana rally.
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