Anecdotal survey carried out by the Business Recorder revealed that there was general disenchantment by the Punjab voters at the frequent display of the "Sindh card" by the PPP-led federal government during the past four and half years.
Sources within the ruling alliance said the recent defeat in the bye-elections in Punjab may compel the PPP strategists to revisit their election strategy that was premised on an easy win with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vote bank competing against each other. Political pundits maintain that the PPP-PML (Q) seat to seat adjustment agreement is in the doldrums with PML-N, PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) already ahead in the race to grab seats in the province. The PPP, sources further revealed, may well renege on the agreement and go it alone.
Sources said Mian Manzoor Wattoo had been given a challenging task to at least retain 62 National Assembly seats from Punjab which PPP had bagged in 2008 general elections. However, there is a grudging acceptance that PPP has no popular or charismatic leader in central Punjab to lead the party in the upcoming elections. Governor Latif Khosa failed to come up to the expectations of President Asif Ali Zardari and in a recent statement he laid the blame for his poor performance on Raza Rabbani a key figure in the passage of the 18th amendment which drastically reduced the powers of the governors.
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan may be given an important role ahead of the general elections after the party's Punjab chapter leadership including Manzoor Wattoo and Governor Latif Khosa's failure to impress the party leadership. However Chaudhary Aitzaz may be a respected lawyer but his decision to defend former Premier Gilani has left him with few supporters both within and outside the party. Though PPP publicly dismissed the PML-N clean sweep in the bye-polls as rigging through the misuse of state machinery; however, independent analysts maintained that declining popularity of the PPP helped rival PML-N to steal the show.
The growing popularity of PTI and its possible electoral arrangements with Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) will be another challenge for the PPP-PML-Q alliance, besides damaging the vote bank of PML-N. The PML-N has already started its election campaign with its main focus on Punjab, while PTI is also holding huge rallies across southern Punjab which has forced the PPP to jump into the field with former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani recently addressing a mammoth rally in Multan.