BAP — still a constant

FORMED a few weeks before the 2018 elections, today – in 2024 -- the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) now stands reduced to a few members with a majority of its members having deserted the party and joined the PML-N or PPP.

The electables of Balochistan generally waste little time in changing loyalties in favour of mainstream political parties before elections. Back in 2018, almost all electables were brought together and a new Balochistan-based party was formed -- BAP. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, former Balochistan chief ministers Jam Kamal Alyani and Mir Qudoos Bizenjo were the founding members of this new party. Jam Kamal was nominated its president while Senator Manzoor Kakar was the original general secretary.

The purpose of this new party was to counter Baloch nationalists with a new narrative -- a local touch of ‘Balochistan’s development and people’s rights’ in the wake of the then situation in the province. It was apparently perceived by the powers that be that since the nationalists’ narrative of people’s control over their resources supported the separatists, there was a need for a narrative by the state to counter them as well as to minimize the effects of the insurgency.

The project did not succeed. In fact, the people of the province suffered a lot due to massive corruption and bad governance which are at a peak in the province. Neither could BAP electables succeed in establishing a counter-narrative against Baloch nationalists and separatists nor could they help the state minimize the effects of the insurgency. Apart from MPs, development funds were also doled out to BAP non-elected members to carry out development activities in their areas. Despite enjoying all their perks and privileges, these BAP members never did much for the constituencies.

Unlike the other three provinces, Balochistan Assembly members annually received around Rs1.5 billion to Rs2 billion. They suggest development schemes on their own, select departments and their officers/engineers, and even contractors who are mostly from their kith and kin.

The Balochistan Awami Party received 24 out of total 65 seats in the 2018 elections and formed a coalition with 17 members of small political groups including the PTI (7 seats). Twenty-four members including 11 MPAs of the JUI-F and 10 of the BNP-Mengal chose to sit on opposition benches. Two former chief ministers -- Nawab Sanaullah Zehri of the PML-N and Nawab Aslam Raisani, an independent member -- were also with the opposition.

A tug-of-war for the slot of chief minister started within BAP from the very first day. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani wanted his lieutenant Qudoos Bizenjo as CM instead of Jam Kamal. But powerbrokers installed Jam Kamal as chief minister and party president and Bizenjo as speaker of the Balochistan Assembly.

While Sanjrani had to accept the decision, efforts were launched forthwith to besmirch Jam Kamal and Anwaar ul Haq Kakar among the powers that be. Sanjrani tried to bring the chief minister’s office under his control like he had done during Qudoos Bizenjo’s first tenure (December 2017-June 2018) -- but he couldn’t succeed this time. Unlike Bizenjo, Jam Kamal resisted Sanjrani’s attempts and ran his office on his own.

The BAP chief minister had hardly completed three years and two months in office when its members were divided into two groups – one led by Jam Kamal and the other by Qudoos Bizenjo. No one in the establishment was in favour of any change in the political setup led by Jam Kamal, but Sanjrani due to reported close ties with a highly influential individual managed to do so by convincing the then prime minister Imran Khan and ‘others’.

Besides having the support of over 35 members of the coalition partners, Bizenjo was also backed by the 24-member opposition. A new BAP-led ruling coalition came into being with Qudoos Bizenjo as chief minister. Bizenjo’s installation as chief minister was a bad idea; compared to any of the weakest governments in the province, his has been called the worst one by some commentators.

In May 2022, Jam Kamal and his supporters and allies like the Awami National Party and PTI submitted a no-confidence motion against Qudoos Bizenjo. The move didn’t work since the JUI-F backed out at the last moment.

After the failure of the no-confidence move, a party convention was held hastily in which Bizenjo was elected as the party’s new chief by removing Jam Kamal. No proper schedule for this election was issued.

It was previously thought that the BAP project would be wrapped up before this round of elections, but later it was said that the party would be retained with a smaller group of electables. Nawabzada Khalid Magsi now heads the party.

Jam Kamal and the majority of his party members quit BAP and joined the PML-N while some others including Sarfaraz Bugti joined the PPP. Most of these electables are unsure of the strategy of them being divided into groups and sent to different parties. In the final estimation, it doesn’t matter which party forms the ruling coalition in the wake of the 2024 elections -- BAP will likely be a partner in that government.