akistan Peoples Party, a major player in the political arena, has had several successes in the recent past. However, its strategy to regain its strength in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has lacked vivid detail. Consequently, it has failed consistently to achieve its targets in the two provinces ahead of the general elections. Could the ambiguity be a choice to retain more room for manoeuvre? Asif Ali Zardari is known, after all, for not revealing all his cards early.

The former president is also known for transforming the party’s people-centric policy into one focused primarily on power politics. Publicly, he still proclaims that people are the source of all power – a slogan coined by PPP’s founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his comrades including the likes of Dr Mubashir Hasan and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. His conduct on several occasions, however, suggests that he realises the value of maintaining good relations with the establishment. He has also shown great flexibility and set new political precedents in agreeing to ‘national reconciliation’ and sharing power with old foes such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

Guided by Zardari, the PPP has succeeded in forming governments in Sindh following three successive elections. It also produced stunning results in the Senate elections in 2016 and 2021, and played a key role in deposing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from power.

Also under his leadership, the PPP has managed to sweep the local government elections across Sindh. For the first time, a PPP leader has been elected the Karachi mayor.

Despite all these successes, the PPP is struggling in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it has failed to attract political heavyweights to its ranks. While some local leaders have joined the party, the real issue is regaining the party’s lost vote bank and winning over significant electables. Despite frequent visits to the Punjab and the KP by the PPP chairman and his father, few political heavyweights have joined the party. While dozens of PTI and PML-Q people and some PPP leaders who have been inactive recently have joined the party, this might not result in a marked difference in terms of votes polled and seats won in the National and Punjab Assemblies. In this regard, the launch of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) has been a major set back for the PPP in the Punjab.

The PPP had contacted the IPP patron in chief, Jahangir Tareen, through his brother-in-law, the former Punjab governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood and extended him an offer to join the party. However, he is said to have amicably declined the offer. Instead, the IPP has been formed and has attracted many electables who have left the PTI. The PPP was never interested in the likes of Fawad Chaudhry and Firdaus Ashiq Awan. However, it could have attracted the likes of Saeed Akbar Niwani and Noman Iqbal Langrial.

The PPP leaders also need to find a way to motivate its supporters to become more active. The Punjab was once the strongest chapter in the PPP on account of the connection between the party leaders and its supporters. Party leaders, including the chairman and co-chairman, no longer have such a connection with the grassroots supporters. Top PPP leaders in the Punjab – Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood, Yousaf Raza Gilani and Qamar Zaman Kaira – are busy mostly with their own constituencies and government affairs in Islamabad.

Most PPP workers and local leaders were happy when the Election Commission of Pakistan appointed Mohsin Naqvi as the Punjab caretaker chief minister. They believed that Naqvi, known for his proximity to Zardari, would help resolve the issues faced by the PPP supporters. However, that has not happened. In a recent meeting, PPP Lahore president Aslam Gill reportedly told Bilawal Bhutto that while the Punjab government addressed any requests from PML-N supporters with alacrity, PPP workers were being ignored.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Zardari is said to have told party leaders that he is having another Bilawal House built in Lahore to ensure easy access and more frequent interaction with workers. That may be so, but his security protocol will still remain a problem for PPP activists. Many PPP workers who got to see him when he was the country’s president, seldom get a chance now to meet him. Journalists and media persons also complain that his media managers invite only a handful of media persons to pressers and meetings.

In the KP, PPP’s provincial president Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha had claimed a few weeks ago that several leaders of a high stature would soon join the PPP. Instead, Pervez Khattak has launched his own faction, the PTI-Parliamentarians, and is claiming the support of 57 former MNAs and MPAs. The main problem in the KP apparently is a leadership crisis. Faisal Karim Kundi and Bacha are serving as minister and PM’s advisor, respectively. This means that they are no longer easily accessible to party supporters. Sajid Turi, another PPP stalwart from Kurram, too, is a federal minister.

In Sindh, the PPP does not need to woo people from other parties. In Balochistan, it has done better than in the Punjab and the KP. Several former ministers, MNAs, MPAs and senators, besides notables of various tribes and parties, have joined the PPP.

It seems that Zardari has a plan in his mind for the Punjab and the KP but has yet to share it with others. Sources close to him say that he is more interested in the Punjab than in the KP or the federal government. They say that if the PPP faces a situation where it has to choose between forming a government in the Punjab or at the Centre (Islamabad), he would opt for the Punjab because he realises that the province holds the key to the federal government.

The PPP has decided to launch Aseefa Bhutto Zardari in the coming elections. She might contest from Sindh and the Punjab, simultaneously. Once he leaves his cabinet position, Bilawal Bhutto will launch a massive campaign in the Punjab. Zardari is expected to reveal his cards after the election schedule is announced. For now, he is concentrating on the caretaker setup.

The writer is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and analyst. He tweets at @BukhariMubasher